Reincarnation
by Lily Kalanoa
Summary: Four young boys are given a gift. To give their lives to four lost souls, a preist, a child, a musician, and everyone's favorite psyco. But do they want the gift? And what happens when they meet with friends and enemies of their past lives?CH13 revised!
1. The Gift

Here I go again, posting up yet another angsty Trigun fic. And, just like the last one, this isn't quite finished. *sigh* However, there's actually a reason for that this time. I want reader input for part of the story, but we'll get to that later. I don't own Trigun or the characters that I'll be messing with. I'm making no money off this, so don't sue me.

**

Erique opened his eyes and rolled over. Who the devil had left a light on? Most of the boys in the orphanedge respected Erique and feared his threats. They all knew he couldn't sleep with a nightlight and almost no one challenged him. So this soft glow was a mystery to him. Someone would be most unhappy to see him so upset.

He rolled over to find the accursed light, but it was not there. Instead a young woman was in the doorway, hovering inches off the floor. She was beautiful, with soft white wings and, of course, a gentle glow. Blindly Erique groped behind him until he found his friend's arm. He shook the slightly younger Aleks awake without making a noise, never taking his eyes off the creature before him.

Aleks, grumbling about the late hour, sat up and slipped into silent awe when he noticed the woman. She smiled and came over to the boys, walking just above the dirty floor. "Don't be afraid. I'm here to give you a gift."

Aleks scrambled back in his bed, away from the angel. "What kind of gift?"

"Life." The boys gaped openly at her and she continued. "Sadly, there will be an accident tonight, and I'm here to offer you the chance to survive."

Erique opened his mouth to say something, but shut it as a small boy, only three-years-old, came walking in from the bathroom. "Wow," he whispered, "an angel!"

The woman sighed softly and bit her lip. "This was only meant for two . . . Oh well. Anyone that sees me gets the chance, so come here little one." The boy – Kai – padded over to the others and waited in silence. 

Seeing that she had their attention, the angel smiled that wonderful yet sad smile again. "Tonight, there will be an accident, and sadly all here are going to die. They will pass on to Eden and be happy. However, you three are granted an opportunity to live out your lives for a short time. Do you all understand?"

Three heads bobbed up and down slightly. "Good. There is, of course, a condition. There are some who, in just under a decade, are going to die. I want to give them another chance at life as well."

Erique frowned. "So we only have ten years to live if we agree to do this?"

Aleks grabbed his friend's arm. "I don't want to. This is too freaky."

The angel nodded again. "As fate would play out, you three would die from common dangers at that time. You would go on to Eden – to paradise – and your bodies would become host to these souls which deserve a second chance. Do you understand that?" She looked at Kai, though the question was clearly directed at all of them.

Again, three small heads bobbed up and down, Kai's a little hesitantly. "Well then, children, what are your decisions?"

Erique looked at Alaeks, who nodded reluctantly, and then back at the angel. "We're in."

"Good. When the time comes for you to pass on, you will see me again."

"What's your name?" Aleks asked carefully.

"That is unimportant. Call me Angel." She knelt and placed a hand on Kai's shoulder. "And you, little one? What is your dicision?"

The smallest boy looked over at the other sleeping children. "We can't save them?"

"No, I'm very sorry, but we cannot save many. Only a few, and you are one of those few."

Kai looked at one bed then down at the floor. "Then give my spot to him."

Angel glanced at the sleeping boy. "You would sacrifice yourself so he can live? Why him? What is so special about that boy?"

Erique frowned. "That's just Jaysan. He's the oldest boy here, turned eleven last month. He doesn't have any friends."

Kai nodded enthusiastically. "That's why he should get the chance, he should have friends in life."

Angel frowned. "I'm sorry. The gift was placed before you, I cannot give it to anyone else."

Kai nodded and moved back towards his bed. "Then my answer is no. You can give it to someone else, I don't want it." He lay down and Angel smiled. She placed her hand over each boy and they fell asleep once more, waiting for the night's events to proceed.

Mere hours later, still well before dawn, a criminal was running wildly from the sheriff. A few stray bullets hit a heater, causing a massive explosion and destroying most of the orphanedge as well as ending the pursuit. Frantically, citizens awoken by the blast hurried to search for survivors.

"Here! Here! There are two boys over here that are all right!"

Aleks and Erique huddled together, minor cuts and bruises, but no serious injuries. Aleks looked around at the devastation. "Is there anyone else?"

Another citizen was a short distance away. "Yes, here, I think."

There was loud cughing and Jaysan's head appeared from beneath the rubble. "I had a dream. An angel gave me a gift," his eyes locked on the other two boys. "But we weren't supposed to tell . . ."

The three boys were helped from the building together. They looked back sadly, mourning for their life that was left behind in the rubble. Just as they were turning to go, another man cried out. "Hey, Hold on! I've got another one here, a baby!"

The boys spun to see a very dusty Kai crawling over the rubble towards them. He smiled when he saw Jaysan. "She gave it to you too."

**

Nine years went by and the boys enjoyed their life greatly. They became closer than close, working and living together. It wasn't long after the nine year mark that Kai became ill. The others stood around his bed, knowing that it had begun. 

Erique paced back and forth. "Dammit, this isn't fair!" He began fiddling with a glass in his hands. "I understand that our time is up. I don't mind that we all have to die. But Kai shouldn't have to suffer!" He threw the glass towards a wall, but it didn't hit. 

Time stopped and slowly, a glow filled the room as Angel appeared. "Calm yourself, Erique. He is stronger than you think." Kai smiled and nodded. Angel bent and put a hand to his chest, healing the body. "Come now, Zazie needs this shell. Eden is waiting for you."

Kai's beautiful green eyes closed and his breathing stopped for a moment. When his eyes opened again, they were the deepest purple. He looked around wildly, totally confused. Jaysan looked up to Angel "What are we suppoesed to tell him?"

"Explain." There was a loud crash – the glass hitting the wall – and Angel was gone. 

Aleks sighed and looked down at the blonde boy. "I guess we have some explaining to do then."

**

The four boys were still very close, despite the replacement of one of their members. Zazie was still young and adjusted to his new life easily. He bonded closely with the boys and felt badly knowing they would all die soon. But he was happy to have his second chance at a good life.

The happiness was all too short, however. Very soon after Zazie's reincarnation, the boys were playing on a large cliff. One wrong step, and Jaysan went tumbling down towards the ground far below. The others hurried down the cliff path as time stopped around them. They reached the bottom to see Angel stand from the body and leave.

Aleks bent over the confused boy laying prone on the dirt. "How do you feel?"

"Confused as hell. What's going on?"

Erique looked into the murky blue eyes and smiled. "What's your name, friend?"

The man blinked up at the three boys. "Nicholas."

Zazie made a short snort. "Hey, Chapel."

Casting a confused glance at the small blonde, Erique offered a hand to help Nick up. "Nice to meet you. You aren't going to believe what we have to tell you."

**

The arrangement was uncomfortable for a while, Zazie and Nick had problems getting along. But slowly, they grew to be friends as well, finding it comforting to have someone who understood their shared past. Together they waited in anticipation of losing the next member of the group. 

Standing in the center of town, it happened. Their was screaming, and shooting, and both Aleks and Erique fell to the ground, mortally wounded. Almost instantly, Angel appeared. She bent over Aleks's body, healing the wounds and looked up at Nick and Zazie. "Will you be able to explain things to him?" The boys nodded and watched as Midvally blinked himself awake.

They explained things quickly and then turned to look at Erique. He was unconsious. Angel smiled, "You won't have long to wait."

Midvally shuffled his feet. "Three guesses who else is coming back."

Wolfwood looked at the sax player, then down at the boy. "We all look so much like our former selvs. Who else do you know with that color hair?"

Erique opened his eyes and looked up at Angel. "Is it over, then?" The winged one nodded. "I'm glad we got this gift." And he closed his crystaline blue eyes again.

A second later, the deep golden orbs that were Legato opened wide and completely confused. He tried to bolt upright, fight whatever was happening. Angel put a hand on his shoulder and instantly the body went limp, but the eyes remained frightened and alert. "Legato Bluesummers," Angel spoke cooly to the boy. "This entire gift was derived for you. If you were to die, your soul would be completely wasted, much like your life. So, to you, Legato Bluesummers, I give an additional gift." She bent and kissed his forehead softly, then stood to leave.

Nick tried to grab her arm, finding that his passed right through the ghostly presence. "Er . . . hey, hold on! What did you do to him?"

Angel looked at the young priest and sighed sadly. "I gave him a conscience." She left.

Wolfwood looked wide eyed at the trembling blue-haired boy at his feet. He had rolled onto his side and held his head tightly. "Legato?"

He looked up at Nick. "How could I . . . have done . . ." He trailed off, curling into a fetal position. Slowly the others raised the boy to his feet and took him back to their house.

**

Ha! This is fun ^_^ Only one chapter in, and all of my original characters are already dead! I think that's hilarious, even if you don't. By the way, if you didn't catch it, this fic I'm working on the assumption that Legato didn't know what he was doing was wrong. Anyway, what do you think? No reveiws means this'll go into my private collection. And if you do like it, I'll tell you what input I'll need at the end of chapter three (that far *is* written and will come fast) Well, till then ^_^


	2. New Life

Yay! You like my idea! Well, here's the next chapter. I still don't own Trigun T_T The plot should pick up a little this chappie, too. Enjoy ^_^

**

Wolfwood sighed and looked at their depleted funds once more. He had spent most of the night trying to figure out how to stretch their limited cash into bus fair to the next town and still leave enough for supplies. He counted out the money carefully, handing the amount needed for bus fair to Zazie.

The blonde checked his friend's math and pocketed the bills. "I don't understand why we can't just stay here though, Chapel."

Wolfwood sighed in annoyance. "I've asked you not to call me that. And we can't stay. These boys were well known in this town and now we're all completely different. I doubt it would go over well if we had to be retrained for jobs we've supposedly been doing for a couple years now. You and I could keep up appearances, but what about the others?"

Zazie sighed and looked back at where Legato sat curled in a chair. "I suppose you're right. I sure don't want to explain why Erique suddenly turned all super depressed." The blonde's gaze turned sad. "Chapel, do you suppose Legato's going to be all right?"

"Not sure. You and I feel pretty bad about the death we've caused, and he was dozens of times worse. I don't envy him, that's for sure." Wolfwood looked down at the money still clutched in his fist – an almost nonexistant amount. He would have to try and get weapons and supplies with it. He sighed. "And don't call me Chapel." Slowly, Wolfwood went to the door where Midvally was waiting for him. He handed over some of the cash. "You get supplies. I'll see what I can do about getting some guns." The other nodded and together they went into town.

Parting from his companion, Wolfwood walked resolutely into a small gun shop. His eyes played across the small lumps of brass and crome. He read a sign telling him that no ammo would be given until purchase, and another saying that all damaged goods would be billed. He walked to the counter and asked to see a handgun that was on display. The cashier smiled broadly, looking very much like a rat. "This one? Yes, an excellent choice. Supirior quality, one of the best ranged weapons out there. Superb accuracy, and light – something a slim fellow like yourself will appreciate."

Wolfwood took the gun and raised it to eye level. He aimed it and pretended to fire. "This is a piece of crap!" The clerk's smile dissappeared. "I may not look it, but I know quite a bit about weapons of murder. This thing has a faulty trigger, and the hammer doesn't look to good either. I'm looking for a bargain here, I won't pay good money for a piece of shit."

He tossed the gun back and proceeded to examine others. He needed something small, but efficient for Zazie, the youngest of the new group. Something powerful and fast for Midvally, with enough kick to rival his old sax. And something simple for Legato. The blue haired man seemed to enjoy things of simple beauty with no bangles to detract from it.

He was trying to find one for himself when he heard shouting from next door. "Oh, shit, that's Midvally's voice!" He ran from the store, not bothering to put down the gun he was examining. He dashed next door to see a dimly lit, dingy bar. His eyes focused on the large argument taking place at the counter where Midvally was trying to buy hard liquor in his shiny new fifteen year old body.

Wolfwood ran over to him. "What the hell do you think you're doing?!" He raised the gun, bringing it down not _too_ hard on the boy's skull. "You're fifteen, you moron! You can't buy alchohal! For crying out loud, you're a fucking virgin again!"

Midvally's face paled. "No, that can't be right. Why'd you get to come back all old and stuff?!"

Wolfwood sighed and dragged his friend out of the seedy building. He walked back into the gun store, his eyes falling once more across the 'break it and buy it' sign. He looked down at the gun still in his hand and saw a vague dent where he had struck Midvally. He groaned and walked back to the counter. "I guess I'll take this one too. And some ammo for all of them please?"

The clerk smiled and took the money before handing over the weapons. The two boys walked out, scowling at the money they had left. It was hardley enough to buy ration bars for their trip. They bought what they could and headed back to see if Zazie had gotten the tickets.

**

Zazie smiled as his friends came home. "Got the tickets. We can only get to L. R. on our money, but that's plenty good." He handed one ticket each to the two boys. "We'd better get going though, bus leaves in only half an hour. The two nodded and hefted their luggage – one bag each with just the essentials. Zazie gazed at the remaining ticket in his hand. It was for Legato, there hadn't been enough for him to get his own. He was going to have to try and get one at the station, hoping for better luck than he'd had before.

The four walked to the bus stop in silence and boarded. Zazie helped Legato on, then stepped aside to talk to the driver. "Sir, I, um, need a ticket." He produced the money he still had – less than half of what he needed – and did his best to look like an innocent little boy that deserved pity. 

The driver scowled. "Look, kid, no one rides without money. You're old enough to learn that lesson now."

"But, sir, I don't have it! My friends are already on board, I have to be on this bus. You see that blue haired fellow, dontcha? I'm taking care of him 'cause he's awful sick right now. He needs me."

"Hmph. Touching story kid, really. But no money, no ticket, no ride." He pushed Zazie out of the way to greet the next customer.

"Maybe I can help you?" Zazie turned to see a young girl, about his age, with flowing ebony hair and sparkling silver eyes. She smiled, flashing perfect teeth, and held out a small amount of money. "That should just barely get you a ticket, all right?"

Zazie took the money before she could retract the generous offer. He bowed slightly. "Arigatou. Are you coming to L. R. too?"

She smiled again. "Not now, but daddy said he'd take me soon. Maybe I'll see you there, then you can pay me back." Zazie nodded slightly and backed into the driver eliciting a curse, but also a ticket to ride. The girl waved goodbye to him as he was about to board. "My name is Isabel. I'll look you up when I get to L. R., all right, Zazie?"

The boy nodded, captivated by her lovely smile. It didn't occur to him that he had never tols her his name.

**

Midvalley stood in silence watching Legato. The former leader of the Gun Ho Guns lay unmoving on his bed, eyes fixed on the ceiling. He hadn't moved to anyone's knowledge in the couple of weeks that they'd been here. Every morning, though, a little more food was missing from the kitchen and Legato's eyes were red-rimmed. Everyone knew that Legato was fairly alert during the night, but during he day, he may as well have been comatose.

Midvalley sighed. "I don't get it. We all feel bad about what happened in the past, but you're the only one who's like this. Are you going to waste your second chance?" Legato made no response.

"Why are you wasting your time on him?" Wolfwood came through the door, staring at his sax player friend. "Let him waste away if that's what he wants. You should be happy to just be alive."

"I heard what Angel said, though. This entire thing is because of him. Don't you think we should try to help him?"

Wolfwood sighed in annoyance. "Yeah, I know we owe him. But that doesn't change the fact that he obviously doesn't want our help. Besides, we have other things to worry about, come on."

The two men walked from the room. Zazie was dozing lightly on the couch and Midvalley smacked his arm until he woke up. "All right, Chapel. What did you want to talk about?"

Wolfwood rubbed his temple lightly with two fingers. "Nick. Nicholas. Wolfwood. _Not_ Chapel. Never mind. Look, how are you two coming with jobs? We're running low on food already, and I don't get paid again for a whole week."

Zazie groaned loudly. "I got nothing. No one wants to hire a kid for real work."

"I'm not doing much better. But, I might have found something."

Wolfwood looked at Midvalley expectantly. "Really?"

"It's a bar. I talked to the owner and he says he's willing to pay for live enter-"

"Not this again! We've already been over this. Until we get some money saved up, you can't even think about getting a sax! You're going to have to live with it."

Midvalley scowled. "I know, I know! But it's good money. If we could just spare a little bit, I can get the sax, get the job, and make it back with interest in no time!"

Zazie placed a hand on his friend's shoulder. "Look, it sounds like a great idea, and I agree that it'll work. But the simple truth is, we can't. We're not even making enough for the four of us to live on as it is. Unless you're giving up your share of dinner, there's nothing we can do."

Wolfwood sighed. "Even that wouldn't be enough. Try and get a real job. I promise, if we get the chance, we'll set aside funds for you. But we simply can't do it now." Wolfwood watched as the hornfreak hung his head, nodding agreement. "Anyway, you better get something soon, or we're going to be totally broke before my next check." He reached into his coat, pulling a slip of paper from its depths. "I managed to get an advance, but it's not going to last long."

Zazie reached out, taking the check. "This isn't very much. But I guess it has to do. I'll head out for some groceries."

Midvalley nodded. "I might be able to get a job at that bar temporarily doing grunt work. I'd better get to it now though."

Wolfwood nodded and stood. "I've got to get to work myself. Today's supposed to be my day off, but we need the cash. See ya, guys."

Zazie walked into the single bedroom of their pathetic house. He looked at Legato on the bed and forced a smile into his lips. "Are you going to be all right by yourself for a while?"

"If you're having that hard a time with money, maybe I should leave."

Zazie gaped at the blue-haired man. This was the first time he'd spoken since they'd gotten off the bus. "No! No, we're fine. It'll work out. Just, get better. We could really use your help."

"You don't want my help. I'll do something horrible. I don't want you three to suffer because of me."

Zazie frowned. "Then you should get over this thing and go try to get a job. If you want to help us, then _help us._" Legato raised onto his elbows, staring at Zazie. "Just don't do anything stupid. Is that a deal?" Slowly, Legato nodded before laying back down.

Zazie wandered the town for a few hours, going from store to store until the money had vanished. Coming out of the last shop, he struggled with the bags as he walked down the street. "Hey there, can I help you?" Zazie turned to the friendly voice. His eyes slowly traced up the long legs hidden behind a familiar red coat. After a short eternity, his eyes met the face of Vash the Stampede. "Those look pretty heavy. Want a hand?"

Zazie stared open mouthed. "You!"

Vash scrunched up his brow. "Um, yeah? Do I know you?"

"You . . . You don't recognize me?" Vash seemed to think a moment before shaking his head no. Zazie was frozen a moment in time before he catapulted into action. He ran. What else could he do, faced with the humanoid typhoon?

When he got back to the house, Zazie was surprised to find Legato sitting on the couch with Midvalley across the way. Zazie slammed the door, sinking to the ground in front of it. Midvalley walked over to the boy. "What's going on?"

"Vash. He's here, in this town!"

That got Legato to his feet. "What are you talking about?"

All three froze as they heard someone step onto the porch outside. There was the rustling of bags and then a light knock on the door. "Hello? Hey, kid, I'm sorry I scared you. Whatever you've heard about me isn't true, all right? I brought your bags, I'll just leave them out here. Maybe I'll see you later, all right?" There was a pause where none of the three boys breathed. "Well, all right then. Bye."

No one moved for several minutes. Finally, Zazie stood, opening the door and retreiving the groceries. "Told you." The others nodded in silent agreement.

            **

"NANI!!!! He's _here?_ As in, here, in this town?" Zazie nodded at Wolfwood, who had come home late in the night and been told of the afternoon's events. "Well, we have to go talk to him!"

Midvalley frowned. "Are you sure that's such a good idea?"

"What are you talking about? If Vash and the girls are in town, of _course_ we should go see them!"

"But, Chapel. He killed us, wouldn't it be strange to see us again?"

Zazie frowned at that. "Actually, he didn't kill any of us. Chapel shot me."

"And Chapel killed me," Wolfwood added.

Midvalley frowned, but he nodded. "I guess you're right. He tried to _stop_ me."

Wolfwood pounded his fists together. "So we should go see him! He'll be thrilled that we're alive!"

"I don't know." Zazie looked carefully at Legato, who had stayed quiet and gone quite pale throughout the conversation. "Maybe Midvalley's right."

"Damnit, we're going to see them. I want to see my Big Girl!"

The room fell into silence for a moment before Midvalley broke into laughter. "Your Big Girl?"

Wolfwood felt a distinct blush creep over his cheeks. "I, uh, I meant my cross. I left it with Millie, it'd be great to get it back."

"Yeah right, Chapel. You're just hunting for your piece of tail!"

"Shut up, Hornfreak! You're just jealous that you don't have a girl."

The two growled at each other and likely would have killed each other if Legato hadn't spoken up. "We'll go tomorrow, first thing."

All eyes focused on Legato. Zazie was the first to find his voice. "Are you sure? I thought he'd be the last person you'd want to see."

Legato stood and walked back to the bedroom. "We _will_ go see him tomorrow."

**

Heh. Legato speaks. I did warn you this would be angsty. Hope you like. Keep up the reveiws, please. And I'll need your input after next chapter, so keep an eye out.


	3. Old Life

All right, now the plot is going to start getting away from me. Follow close and give advise.

**

That morning found Vash outside his house, painting the shutters he had just finished fixing. He had just put the brush down when a sudden breeze came up. He wobbled, frantically waving his arms in an attempt not to fall. A futile attempt. The four boys walked up only to find him face down in a small puddle of mud.

"Figures," Wolfwood snorted, "we spend half the morning looking for this idiot and we find him at his best."

Vash rolled over, coming to a sitting position. His eyes played over the three boys he could see from his position. "Oh, hey! You're that kid from yesterday, right?"

Zazie nodded uncertainly before turning to Legato. "Are you sure this is a good idea?" The blue haired boy nodded, stepping from behind the others to help Vash to his feet.

The blonde stared at the boy offering his hand. The resemblance really was uncanny. Legato bowed his head slightly. "We need to speak with you, Vash the Stampede."

"Vash-san? Are you all right?"

All eyes turned to the voice in the doorway. Wolfwood stumbled forward without even thinking about it. "Millie," he whispered. He forgot about all the eyes trained on him and broke into a run. He wrapped Millie in a tight hug and showed no signs of ever letting go. "Big Girl,  I missed you."

Vash heard the whisper and turned his eyes back to the boy in front of him. "Legato?"

The blue-haired boy turned back to him, Vash's voice bringing his attention away from the couple on the porch. Suddenly he didn't think this was as good an idea as he thought this morning. Zazie walked up to Vash, a solemn expression on his face. "In the imortal words of Erique, you aren't going to believe what we have to tell you."

**

The amazing tale was told in the living room of Vash's home with Millie and Meryl listening carefully. Above them, Knives leaned against the railing of the stairs, unnoticed by those below him. When Zazie had finished relating what had happened to them, it was Vash's turn to fill them in on what they'd missed, including his fights with each of them and his fight with Knives.

When everything had been told, everyone sat quietly, absorbing everything they'd just heard. Finally, Vash was the first to find his voice. "So, you guys are here, what are you doing?"

"Chapel's got a job at some resturaunt and I'm helping out at a bar until I can get my sax. Then I'll start bringing in the real bucks, and the chicks, too."

Wolfwood growled slightly from his seat beside Millie. "Nick! Not Chapel, Nick!" Millie kissed the angry preist and Midvalley could be heard growling himself. Wolfwood smirked. "Jealous?"

"Shut up!"

"I have a great idea!" Millie suddenly chimed. "You guys should all stay for lunch! We can cook something really good for everyone. Make this a real celebration!"

Everyone agreed and quickly went about preparing for the meal. Wolfwood joined Millie and Vash in the kitchen while the others upturned boxes and moved tables to make enough seats.

Through the chaos, Legato went to the stairs. He climbed slowly with a certain dread in his stomach. He had to see Knives. He was surprised to find his former master waiting for him in the hallway. "Wel, well. Look what the wind blew in."

Legato tensed, stepping instictively back towards the stairs. Knives smiled sadistically and took three steps forward, bringing him within arms length. "Having fun with your new spider friends?" Legato still didn't speak. He took another step back, putting his heals right on the edge of the top stair. "Or have you come back to beg forgiveness?"

Finally Legato found his voice. "I have done nothing to ask forgiveness for. At least nothing _you_ can forgive."

"Really? Well, what have you done that I couldn't forgive?"

Legato looked away in shame. "I've caused so much death. All because of you." There was true hatred in his voice as he spoke. "You got what you deserved, and you can never hurt anyone again."

Knives laughed softly and stepped forward again. "You mean to tell me that you think you don't have to answer to me any more?"

Legato looked up again, rage flowing through his eyes. "That's right. You no longer control me, you monster."

Knives sobered instantly, moving until their bodies nearly touched. "Remember this, _spider_, I will always control you. You. Are. Mine."

Legato gulped, all courage faded like a dream. He took another step back, away from the monster before him. He tumbled half a dozen steps before catching himself and hurrying the rest of the way down and out the door for some much needed air.

A short time later, Vash stepped out onto the porch. "There you are, Legato. Lunch is ready. Come on in and dish up."

Legato smiled and went inside and to the kitchen. He was the last to get his food, but there was more than enough. His plate loaded almost to overflowing, he stepped into the main room where the table had been set up. He paused, looking at the others already seated. Wolfwood was, of course, next to Millie, and Vash was on one side of Knives. The only open seat was on the other side of Knives.

Seeing his distress, Wolfwood quickly stood. "Here, you can sit here, Legato."

"Oh, how brave of you to leave your woman to sit beside the monster," Knives drolled, a rather amused tone to his voice. There was a soft thunk and Knives let out a strangled cry, glaring at Vash. The legendary outlaw had, aparently, kicked the other man's shin.

Lunch went on in a friendly fashion, everyone chatting happily. The conversation stayed carefully focused on the present, not daring to dip into the past. Legato stayed fairly quiet throughout the celebration, keeping his eyes on his meal the whole time. 

/_Scared?_/ Legato raised his eyes slightly to see Knives smirking at him. Suddenly, the plant flashed an image in Legato's mind of a dead family. Legato choked on his food, caughing frantically. He reached over, grabbing his water and downing most of the glass.

"Woah, you okay man?" Midvalley reached over, patting the blue haired boy on the back. Legato didn't respond, staring at Knives instead.

The blonde smirked, clearly having fun. /_You used to be so proud of it./  He flashed a few more images into Legato's mind, smile growing with each one._

Legato stood abruptly, dropping his glass and drowning the rest of his lunch. He hurried away from the table, outside onto the porch. Holding his head with one hand, he sat there in the sun, fighting back a lifetime of bad memories.

"Legato?" Vash poked his head out from around the doorway, a worried look on his face. "Are you all right? What happened in there?"

Legato curled in on himself, burying his head in his knees. "You wouldn't understand."

"Did my brother do something? Legato, talk to me." Legato shook his head, answering that he didn't want to talk about it. Vash walked over to the boy and sat beside him. He wrapped Legato in a hug from behind, stroking his hair gently. "Whatever it is, it will be all right. I swear it."

"Shut up, you don't know that. You don't know anything about it!"

"I would if you'd tell me."

There was a long pause, filled only by Legato's ragged breathing. Finally he took in a deep shuderring breath. "I don't want this gift, Vash. I don't want to understand."

"What gift?"

"Angel. When I awoke, she," he paused, trying to think how to say it. "She . . . cleared my mind of Master's influence. But I don't want it, I don't want to know all the horrors that I'm responsible for." He hugged his knees more tightly, rocking slightly.

Vash hugged the boy again. "It's all right. It's going to be all right. I'm here for you."

**

Legato lay in bed, staring at the cold ceiling of the pitifully small house. He was thinking about his life, everything he'd done for Knives and everything he'd seen Knives do. He couldn't stop thinking about all the lives they'd ended or destroyed. Finally, he sat up, casting a glance at Midvalley in the bed next to his. The moonlight glinted across the gun lying on the bedside table. 

Legato sneered, thinking of Wolfwood handing out those guns. When he'd asked where his was, Wolfwood had frowned. "You don't get one until I'm sure you won't use it on yourself." But it wasn't himself that Legato was thinking of.

Midvalley's gun firmly in his hand, Legato hurried from the house. The cold desert night lashed at his skin, tossing his hair and shirt about wildly. Legato didn't notice the cold. He reached the house he'd spent the day at and climbed onto the porch. He entered, careful not to wake Vash who was on the couch, bed given up to the reunited lovebirds that decided to stay the night together.

Legato climbed the stairs, sure to avoid the two that had squeaked that afternoon. He hesitated in the hall, but moved to the first door and inched it open. Luck was with him as the room was revealed to be the one where Knives slept. Legato checked the gun, making sure it was loaded, and crept over to the bed.

He held the gun up, aiming at the blonde in a shaking hand. He reached over, steadying one hand with the other and moved closer. He paused, thinking clearly enough to double back and shut the door, locking it securely. then returned to the bed and lay the gun lightly against Knives' temple.

The blonde's eyes flew open at the pressure. Legato jumped, but pressed the barrel more securely in place. "Don't move!" He whispered sternly. "Not a sound, no mind tricks."

Knives held his tongue, regaining control of his rapid breathing. Silently, he reached out his mind. /_Vash! Get your ass up here!_/ Legato licked his dry lips, finger tightening on the trigger. Knives focused on him. "You don't want to do this."

"How the hell would you know what I want? You never cared about that! Just used me like a tool."

"That isn't rue, Legato. You were far more than some tool to me."

"You're right, I was your slave." He shoved the gun into the side of Knives' head, forcing the blonde to press into the pillow.

There was a thunk on the door and Legato started, turning his attention there. Seeing his chance, Knives reached out, grabbing the gun and pointing it, and Legato's now trapped arm, skyward. A shot rang out, crashing through the ceiling and Vash's voice echoed through the door. "Knives! Are you all right? Knives!" He could be heard trying to get the door open.

Knives wrestled with Legato, twisting his arm around until he dropped the gun. Legato struggled, pulling vainly to get away. Knives twisted his arm further and Legato cried out softly, sinking to the floor in pain. Vash screamed again through the doorway.

Knives sneered down at the boy he still held captive. "So you were going to shoot me?" 

"You deserve it. More than any of the people you slaughtered!" Knives twisted his arm further and Legato whimpered and struggled a little more.

There was a gunshot and Vash slammed the door open. He took in the scene and ran to the bed. "Knives! Let go of him!"

"He was going to shoot me, idiot!" Vash grabbed his brother's arms, forcing him to let go of Legato who sank completely to the floor.

"That's no reason to break his arm!"

Legato blinked at the gun that lay just inches away from him. He lifted it clumsily in his left hand and stood, pointing the piece of metal once again at his target. Knives saw him and froze. His arms still trapped by Vash, Knives looked like he didn't know what to do for the first time in a long time. He looked at Legato, silent.

Vash stared at the boy in front of them. "Please," he whispered.

Legato seemed frozen in time. His hand began shaking slightly, then harder. He dropped the gun and sank to the floor again in tears. Vash was suddenly beside him. He helped the shorter boy up and hurried from the room. Wolfwood, Meryl and Millie stood in the hallway, concerned faces each asking the same question. Vash pasted on a smile. "It's okay, just a misunderstanding. I'm going to walk Legato back to his house, all right?"

He handed the gun to Wolfwood who nodded and took it. "I guess I'll go with you then." He turned to Millie and kissed her breifly. "I'll see you later, Big Girl."

The three walked through the night air in silence. About halfway to the house, Zazie and Midvalley came running around a corner. "Vash! You have to help. Legato's gone and Midvalley can't find his gun!" Zazie paused as he recognized Legato. "Uh . . ."

Wolfwood held the sax player's gun out to them. "It's all right. Nothing happened, we're just headed back home."

"Don't leave just yet." A sunny voice sounded across the street and the five men turned to see Angel standing there, a bright smile on her face. 

Vash froze, eyes huge. "Rem?" he whispered, barely audible.

The angel floated forward, arms open. "Yes, Vash-chan. I've missed you." The two embraced tightly.

Wolfwood stared for a moment before supressing a giggle. "Vash-chan?"

The blonde gunman focused on his friend. "This is Rem. I, you? You did this, didn't you?" Rem smiled and nodded only to get another hug.

"Vash-chan. I'm so happy to get to see you, but I'm here on business." Reluctantly, Vash let go and Rem turned to the others. "I'm sorry to bring bad news to you all, but I'm afraid your new lease on life has a couple of rules."

She held up four strips of cloth, two black, two white. "A condition of you keeping these bodies is that you must earn them. Simply put, you must do good. Help someone, help the world, be a friend. Three deeds each in the time of a month."

Midvalley frowned. "Just three good deeds and we're good to go? Easy!"

"Not as easy as it sounds. You must do good for its own sake, not your own."

Zazie stared at her and scratched his head. "What does that mean?"

"It means that if you do something just to have one less deed to do, it will not work. You will each be given one of these." She held up the cloth strips again. "When you do something worthy of life, they will change color. They start out black. Then white, red, and finally blue. If, in one month when I see you all again, they are not blue," she paused, looking sad for a moment, "I'm afraid I'll have to take you back with me."

No one moved for a moment, taking in what they'd just heard. Slowly, each boy nodded. Rem stepped forward, fastening the two black cloths onto Zazie and Midvalley's wrists. The strips closed seemlessly, tightening so they could not fall off. The white cloths were given to Legato and Wolfwood.

"Hey, hang on a second," Midvalley interrupted. "Those two have already gotten one done? What the heck did Chapel do?"

Wolfwood opened his mouth to reply, must likely unkindly, but Rem thankfully replied first. "I'm afraid his good is my little secret."

Legato was staring at his wrist sadly. "Did you give me someone else's? What could I possibly have done to make it change white?"

Rem smiled, bending down and wrapping Legato in a hug. "You did good tonight, Legato-chan." She pulled back to look into his eyes. "No one has the right to take the life of another, no matter how justified it may seem."

"But, everything I did before . . . One man's life can't possibly erase all that."

Vash laid a hand on Legato's shoulder. "The past doesn't matter as long as you don't dwell on it."

Rem nodded. "That's right, Legato-chan. Your ticket to the futre is always blank." She reached around him to brush Vash's ungelled hair back gently. "You will help them, won't you?" Vash nodded, a tear slipping down his cheek. Rem bent forward and kissed it away. "I'm so proud of you." And then she was gone.

The five stood in silence for a while. Finally, they drifted down the street. Vash smiled at the others and waved. "I suppose I need to get back. I'll see you later."

Zazie nodded. "Vash? Can I ask a favor? Later, sometime, would you tell us about Rem? What she's like?"

Vash smiled, another tear slipping from his eye. "In life she was exactly the same. She's always been an angel." He smiled and turned to go home.

**

Longer chappie this time. It's all good, right? All right. This is where I need your help. The good deeds, of course ^_^ (by the way, sorry for the clichee, but it was the best plot device I could come up with) So, some of their deeds are already set, but I'm having trouble thinking of the less significant ones. So, if you write in and tell me what you want to see, I'll write it up and credit you for the idea ^_^ Thank you!


	4. A Friend

Please don't hurt me, minna-san! I know I'm late with this. Here's the deal – this story is going to be going slower than I like to post, but I'm going to try to get a chapter up every other weak or so. This chappie is late because a muse – not this muse – attacked and put me in a headlock. I was forced to write that fic and couldn't get to this one. By the way, never write a depression fic when you're depressed, it really is counterproductive. Anyway, because of all that, this chap is shorter than normal, but at least it's here, right? So, know that I don't own it and enjoy the story ^_^

**

Zazie woke up early the next day as sunlight flooded across the floor he was sleeping on. Blinking rapidly, he sat up and cast a glance around the room. He couldn't wait until his turn on the bed again. The three boys that weren't suffering from depression took the second bed in shifts. Right now, Midvalley was in there sleeping soundly while the other two boys were forced to battle over the couch. Zazie wished they had a larger place, they all did, but until they got some money saved up . . .

Well, there was no sense sitting around sulking about lousy living conditions. Zazie struggled to his feet, stretching out the kinks in his back as he stumbled into the kitchen. He started to brew something to put in a soup while he thought about the past few days. It certainly had been interesting, coming back to life, moving to LR, meeting Vash. And then that confusion last night. A yawn stretched his mouth and Zazie silently cursed Legato for keeping him up so late. 

Speak of the devil. No sooner had the name crossed Zazie's mind than the blue hair sixteen-year-old came out of the bedroom. "Hello, Zazie." Zazie grunted a greeting and went back to his cooking. "I'll be leaving in a few minutes, any chance that'll be done soon?"

Zazie looked over to the other boy, surprised. "You're leaving?" Legato was leaning against the wall, a gun gripped gingerly in each hand. "Hang on a sec, where are you going _to_?"

"Relax. I'm headed out to look for a job and I'm going to sell these. Nicholas has his cross again and I certainly don't need one of these." He looked at the soup and frowned, knowing it wouldn't be ready for awhile. "Just get the others up. I guess I'll see you all later, all right?"

Zazie stared for a moment before nodding. "Yeah, see you later. Do you have any money to buy yourself something to eat?"

Legato shook his head mutely as he strode to the door and out of it. Zazie worried about the older boy for a while, but seeing as there was nothing he could do about it, Legato slipped away from his mind. By the time the suns were setting, Zazie was only just beginning to worry about where he'd gone. 

However, when he voiced these fears, the response did not settle his mind. "I don't see why you're worried." Wolfwood stretched after dinner and yawned. "He's probably over at Vash's. I say let him have his night out. After all, it means I don't have to sleep on the couch." With that, he strode into the bedroom for a much needed night's sleep. Still not comfortable, Zazie settled onto the couch and drifted into an uneasy sleep.

When he awoke the next morning and there was still no sign of Legato, he decided to take matters into his own hands. When the others staggered out of the bedroom, Zazie jumped to his feet. "He's still not back. I want to go find him."

"Zazie, how do you expect to find him in a city of this size?"

"I don't know, but I can't just forget about him."

Midvalley sighed, "Look, you want I should take the day off and help you?"

Zazie's eyes brightened, but Wolfwood was almost eager to cut him down. "You can't. Neither can I. We're not even making enough to live on now, we can't afford to take a day off."

Midvalley frowned at the older boy. "But Zazie's right, we can't just forget about him. What if he's gotten into some sort of trouble?"

"Then he's in trouble. That doesn't mean I'm willing to starve so I can save him. Besides, I'm telling you, he's probably at Vash's."

"Then we can go there first. If you're right, you can head off to work and if you're wrong, we can try and find him!" Zazie was getting desperate now. He watched as Wolfwood shook his head and calmly walked out the door. "What are you doing! How can he be so uncarring?"

Midvalley shook his head. "You don't know much about their relationship before, do you?" Zazie shook his head and Midvalley let out a sigh of his own. "Let's just go find him, all right?"

"But, aren't you going to tell me what's going on between them?"

Midvalley was already headed to the door. "It's not my place to tell. Come on."

**

"He's nissing? Again?" Vash burried his face in his hands before dragging them through his hair. "I don't think I can handle this. What is _wrong with him?"_

"He's not here, then?" Zazie groaned loudly and crouched down on the porch. "Where could he be?"

Vash popped back into the house for a moment only to reappear a moment later wearing a loose cotton shirt and slacks in place of his pajamas. "I'll help you guys. We should split up or something, until one of us finds him." With that, the blonde dashed off down the street.

Zazie hurried around the buildings, running from street to street with no idea where he was going. He was just rushing past another of the endless building fronts when someone called out to him. "Hey! Young man! Are you looking for a blue-haired fellow?"

Zazie stopped so suddenly that he fell to the ground. "Legato?"

"He asked me to keep an eye out for his friends. You one of them?" Zazie nodded and hurried to the man. "He's inside."

Zazie stared around the room, eyes wide. It was a hospitol. The whitewashed walls were starting to yellow with age and disrepair. The tiny folding chairs were mostly rusted and several looked as if they couldn't hold a person's weight. As he was led to the receptionist – no more than a folding table with a plump woman behind it – Zazie grew more and more concerned. Legato was _here?_ Was he sick? Did he get hurt?

The receptioninst jumped up to stop them and she and the man exchanged hurried, hushed words during which both of them pointed at Zazie repeatedly. The blonde worried his lower lip as he waited. After several minutes, the recaptionist stepped aside with a huff and Zazie was led through to the back room. This clinic was divided into two rooms, the waiting room, and the larger room here where the patients were.

Why wasn't Legato at the main hospitol? Why was he _here? Zazie was scanning the room quickly when he spotted a patch of blue. Breaking from his escort, who apparently had no interest in going any further, Zazie ran to his friend. Legato looked up from his position beside one of the beds and smiled. "Zazie! I'm fine, I promise." He muttered quickly, noticing the worried look on his friend's face._

A lady in a white coat walked over to them. "Your friend here brought us a charge and stayed here all night. He may have saved her life."

For the first time, Zazie took in the figure laying on the bed, her hand wrapped tightly around one of Legato's. Her hair was dark and wrapped in a clumsy braid, her skin was pale and caked in dirt. "What's wrong with her?"

"Poisoning," Legato answered. "Family abuse, actually. I found her on the street and she refused to let me bring her anywhere else. The main hospitol would call her parents. But, anyway, once I brought her in, I couldn't leave. I knew you'd worry, I appologize."

Zazie didn't hesitate as he flung himself forward and wrapped Legato in a hug. "Worry? You scared me! I'm just glad you're all right."

He could feel more than hear Legato chuckle beneath him. "I didn't think any of you would be that concerned over me." He pushed the smaller boy away and held up his hand to reveal a bright red band around his wrist. "I didn't think to check it until this morning, but I guess it's good that I helped her." He stared at Zazie a moment before pointing to the boy's own wrist. "And it looks like you worrying about me has earned you a color of your own."

Zazie glanced at his wrist to see his own band a sparkling white. Suddenly he jumped to his feet. "Shit! I have to find the others, they must still be looking for you!" With that, Zazie scrambled back out the door, past the pudgy receptionist, through the rusted chairs, and out the main door. He ran down the street, wind screaming in his ears, until he found the others and filled them in on what had happened to their friend.

**

Review! Tell me hat you think! And keep the ideas coming. If you want to see a deed done, write in in and I'll try and get it in for you. By the way, Zazie's first deed was inspired by Riina and in answer to lyerial I will tell you what Wolfwood's first deed is, just not yet. And I promise to get the next chapter out sooner and it should be longer too.


	5. Mistakes

Hello. I'm late again, thanks to that story I told you about last chapie combined with a serious bout of writer's block. But I have good news! I finished the depressing story, and I'm not working on any other contest entries, so I can focus on this now ^_^ And like I said, I got over the block, so that'll help too. 

Let's see now, reveiws . . . First, to lyerial. Sorry, Legato's girl was just a random girl, she shouldn't be coming back (though no promises) and you'll find out Wolfwood's first (and second) deeds next chapter. Sharem – Shhh!!!!! Actually, I am planning to have some fun with Knives, but not yet . . . And Raditz. It is not wise to read fanfics at 4:00 in the morning. That's almost as bad as writing them at 4:00 in the morning ^_^ And I don't _want to be a scone. I'd much rather be a doughnut, because then Vash would eat me ^_^ Wait a minute, I don't want to be eaten, do I? Maybe a cigarette . . . I wouldn't mind being between Wolfwoods lips :)_

**

Midvalley sat in a dark corner of the building, nursing his drink slowly. He hadn't been very happy to hear Legato had been found safe and sound, although that may have had something to do with the fact that he didn't know until after nearly five hours of searching. As soon as Zazie had told him to stop looking, he'd crawled into the closest resturaunt and curled into a booth. It didn't matter to him that he could trace a path through the dust coating his table. He didn't care that his unidentifyable food both smelled and tasted strongly of cigarette smoke. All that mattered to him was that they hadn't checked his ID before handing him a beer.

_No. Too strong. Not sick. No. Not her. Doesn't need my help._ Midvalley stared out the door at the passing crowd, looking for some chance to do good. He wasn't so much worried about running out of time than of losing face. Legato had gotten his second deed already, and Midvalley had seen the proof himself that Zazie had earned one of his own. Midvalley was the only one yet to make progress. And the crowd outside didn't present any options that he could see.

With a sigh, he dropped some money on the table and stumbled into the bright light outside. He wandered down the streets, staring at each person he passed. Everyone in this town seemed so damn healthy, there was no chance for him to do anything. No starving kids, no injured people, no abused wives or sick husbands. Losing hope, he turned to go home, with a stop by the bar where he'd skiped work today.

"Scuze me, budy, spare some change?" Midvalley looked down to see a young, well dressed child. "Spare change?"

"Look kid, I'm probably more broke than you are." The young boy hung his head and started to walk away when Midvalley grabbed his arm. "Listen, here." He handed over three double dollars, the only thing he had left in his pocket. Overjoyed, the kid ran off and Midvalley smiled. There. One good deed done. He looked down at his wrist and frowned when he saw it hadn't changed. Oh well, maybe it takes a while.

Ten minutes later, Midvalley walked into the dingy bar where he was working. "Scrub!" He jumped at his boss's voice. "Why the hell weren't you in today?"

"There was an emergency, sir. One of my friends was missing."

"So you skipped out on your responsibilities?"

Midvalley gulped, seeing where this was going. "Sir, I'm sorry, but I was worried about him. I did come in to explain, right?"

"_After_ your shift was over! Do you know how much trouble you put someone through? Now, get out of here, scrub. I have work to do!"

"But, sir, when do I-"

"You don't! I gave this job to you on good faith, now get out of here!"

Impossible. He'd spent the whole day searching and worried and what did he get for it? Squat. Less than squat! Midvalley reached into his pocket, intent to get himself a much needed drink. "Shit, that little street rat." Grumbling and uttering several more curses, the sax player headed home.

**

It was already dark when Midvalley stumbled from the house again. He rushed down the streets, brushing right past Wolfwood as he headed in for a late dinner. He ignored the priest's inquiries and just hurried down the streets. Nearly a half hour passed before he reached a small, poorly lit building. He looked around, taking in the thick smell of alchohol mixed with smoke, vomit, and various other scents that he didn't want to identify.

Aaah, he was home!

The residents of the building and the surrounding alleys were equally disgusting. Most were unshven and reeked strongly. Several had probably never had a bath in their life. Most were tripping over thin air, too drunk to even stand on their own. It was so good to be amongst real people again! Midvalley pushed his way up to the door and tried to get in when he was grabbed from behind.

"Lookie here, fresh meat!" Midvalley's eyes widened as a huge meaty arm closed across his throat. "And where do you think you're going, half-pint?"

Midvalley twisted, freeing his arm and drawing his gun. Pressing it against the man's gut he ground his teeth together. "Lay off, wide load." The man dropped him and made a grab for Midvalley's gun, but he was faster. Dodging to the left, Midvalley thought it might not be so bad to have a new, younger, stronger, faster body. Getting around behind the thug, Midvalley grabbed the man's hair and pressed his gun firmly against his temple. "Well, now that we've been properly introduced, I'm so glad you've voluntered to give me a guided tour."

"You little punk!"

"Shut up! I don't want to kill you, it would really hurt my cause right now. So just take me inside and show me who runs this crap hole!" The man twisted, trying to dislodge his small passenger, but Midvalley held tight and the man was given no choice but to obey or gain a new hole in the head.

The inside of the building was little improvement from the outside. The air was thick with perfumes that undoubtedly masked less pleasant odors. In every corner, adults and several children as young as ten stood clustered around various tables in the dim light. Midvalley gasped. He'd known what this place was, he'd known what to expect and he'd seen it many times before in his life. But he'd never seen one _quite_ like this.

Suddenly he was flying through the air, wrenched from the gigantic man before him. He hit the ground and scrambled to point his gun at the proper target. But there were too many, a total of six people with more weapons than that stood over him, scowls marked across each face. No other choice, Midvalley raised his hand slightly, allowing his pistol to dangle from one finger.

A tough looking girl, no more than eight or nine years old, stepped forward and took the weapon before motioning to the others gathered around them. They all stepped back and Midvalley felt safe to breath again. He looked at the girl with her rough cut red hair and dirt smudged face. "You can't tell me you're in charge around here."

"No, this is where daddy and I vacation." Her sickly sweet smile faded instantly and she cuffed Midvalley hard across the face. "Of _course I'm in charge around here! And I got here because of skill. I'm the best around. Now what the hell do you want?"_

Midvalley sat up, eyes once again scanning the rooms. "I guess that explains the kids. I've never seen a place like this employ anyone under drinking age."

"Well, now you've seen one! What the hell are you doing here? You're scrawny, obviously skilled, though I wouldn't bet on you in a fight. How'd you find us?"

"Trust me, I wouldn't have if there was some other choice." Midvalley climbed to his feet now and noticed that several guns were still discreetly trained on him. "Look, I'm having a hard time right now. Give me a few more days and I'm not going to have money for food or rent and I'm helping to support others. I lost my job today, so I came here."

The girl snorted, twirling one beaded strand of hair through her fingers. "Oh, boo hoo. You forgot to mention your sick mother and lame sister. I've heard much better sob stories, so if that's all you've got, then get lost."

"But it's true!"

"It always is, sweety. Now shut up and ship out, you don't belong here."

A tall woman stepped forward and grabbed Midvalley's arm, pulling him towards the door. Starting to get desperate, Midvalley twisted out of her grip and in turn grabbed the younger girl's arm. "Hey, I'd bet that I'm a hell of a lot more skilled than you are. And I know that you're always looking for new blood, why not give me a shot?"

The girl looked at him appraisingly before shaking her head again. "All right, if you let me go now, you can keep that hand." Midvalley released his grip, but he didn't move. "Kid, do you even have any idea what you're getting into here?"

"Yeah, _kid_. This place is illegal; if the sheriff knew what went on here, you'd all be arrested or worse. That's because this is _the place to find gangsters, mercenaries, crooks, and hookers. Like I said, I have more experience than you possibly could. Now, are you going to give me a shot or not?"_

The girl seemed to think a moment before raising Midvalley's own gun and pointing it squarly at his chest. Midvalley's breath caught as he stared at the weapon until she suddenly laughed. "I'm Alex. This is a pretty nice piece of work."

She offered the handle and Midvalley took it, laughing nervously. "It's not all that much. Not near as powerful as what I used to carry, but I lost that a while ago." He looked around again. Nothing was out of the ordinary and, suddenly, no one was paying him any more attention than anyone else. He allowed himself a smile; this was where he belonged. Among the low lifes and the cut throats. "So, Alex, what sort of work do you have coming in?"

**

Zazie sat at the dinner table in silence. Legato was making quick trips from the kitchen, bringing their modest dinner out. The air was tense, and that was the understatement of the year. Wolfwood and Midvalley were sitting opposite each other, one on either side of Zazie, glaring at each other. Well, Wolfwood was glaring. Midvalley was making quite a show of being unconcerned.

"A week," Wolfwood ground out between clenched teeth.

"Let's not discuss this at dinner," Midvalley replied. He was enjoying irking the preist far too much for his own good.

"A week!"

Legato brought out the last dish and leaned between the two boys to set it down, breaking their eye contact and hoping that would abate the argument. No such luck. No conversation lasted in the tense atmosphere, except the brewing fight. "I don't see why it's your business anyway, Chapel."

"It's my business because you've been robbing us! You should have told me as soon as you lost your job."

"Oh, yes, the chance of losing my right to eat is such a big incentive to admit that my cash flow was interrupted."

"We don't have the money to support anyone who doesn't pull their own weight!"

"Really! Now, that's interesting, since neither Legato nor Zazie are working and yet you don't seem to mind supporting them."

"That's because they are still helping out. Zazie keeps the house, you know that."

"And Legato sits in depression. The only reason you're singaling me out is because I _had_ better luck than them, but lost it. Because I was worried about Legato, none the less. Who decided to make you the leader anyway?"

"No one has argued about it yet. I'm doing a good job, after all. Besides, I'm oldest."

Legato set his fork down with a clang. "Now, Nicholas, that is too much. You know perfectly well that both Midvalley and I are older than you."(1)

"That's not what I meant-"

"Isn't it though? Throwing your weight around as if you know what's best for everyone?" Legato was starting to get angry now, too. "You believe yourself to be better than us because you, what, respected life? Knew Vash? Hate your past?"

"No. Nothing like that! I just meant-" Wolfwood stuttered to a stop, glaring with new vehemence as Midvalley broke into giggles. "Forget I said anything, all right? As of right now, I'm the leader here because I'm the only one paying for the food."

"Hold on there!" Midvalley reached into his pocket. "Who said I wasn't going to pay my share?" He waved a small wad of bills in front of his face, smling past them at Wolfwood, before tossing the money to him.

Wolfwood grabbed the bills, quickly counting them as his eyes widened. "There's more here than you said you were going to bring in!"

"That's because my new job pays even better than working in that two-bit bar."

Wolfwood looked around from his plate to Midvalley to the others and back. Finally he sighed, defeated, and left the table. Zazie stared after him before smiling up at Midvalley. "You won. So, what's this new job?"

Midvalley's smile evaporated. "I'd rather not talk about it." Seeing his friend's worried looks he shook his head quickly. "It's just normal stuff, ya know? General work, nothing _worth_ talking about."

Not convinced, Legato let it go and the three boys finished their dinner together. "So, you have a job, how are you doing on your deeds?"

The change of subject didn't improve Midvalley's suddenly foul mood and he growled audibly before replying. "I don't get it! I've been working my ass off, and I'm still black."

Zazie frowned. "Well, what have you done? Maybe you're just doing the wrong thing?"

"Everything! I've given money to poor kids, I helped some old lady with her groceries, I saved a cute little puppy brat."

"Well, maybe you're not doing anything big enough?"

"You didn't let me finish. I also stopped a guy robbing a resturaunt and tackled this stupid bitch who had just tried to kill someone."

Legato frowned. "Perhaps you are sinning when you aren't doing good and the two are cancelling each other out." Midvalley frowned at that, but Legato continued. "Or, more likely, you're not doing selfless acts. You are helping people for your own benefit, not theirs."

"Well, that's not very helpful! Of course I'm doing it for myself, but I'm still helping them! There's no other way to do it, I mean, I know that it's for me too, so it can't be all that selfless."

"We've menaged it."

Legato had obviously said the wrong thing. Midvalley practically leapt from the table, storming past Wolfwood on the couch and slamming the bedroom door behind him. Zazie followed, screaming after him. "Hang on a sec! It's my turn on the bed! You've got the couch with Chapel tonight!"

***

(1)Actually, official sorces put both Legato and Wolfwood in their "mid- to late- twenties" so I don't know who's older there and there is no mention of Midvalley's age, but he looks older to me.

Well, that's the next chapie. I'm still interested in hearing any ideas you guys have for deeds ^_^ and this time, I can garuntee an update in about two weeks . See you then!


	6. Mystery

Lookie! I'm on time for once ^_^ And with a good, long chappie too. Well, this should be normal for me from now on, I'll post every other Tuesday, kay? I might start posting something else (not Trigun, sorry), but it shouldn't interfere with this. So keep those reviews coming! I am also accepting deeds of ownership to this show, bishounen, enough money to buy this show or said bishounen . . .

**

Wolfwood stood and paced to the window, drawing a cigarette into his mouth. He smiled as he looked at the moons and turned back to Millie, still curled up in bed. She frowned at him. "Is something wrong?"

"I was just thinking. We should have another get together with everyone. Maybe for dinner this weekend? I have an announcement, but I want everyone to hear it at the same time."

Millie sat up, beaming. "That sounds wonderful! I can make spaghetti! And maybe steaks or something and–"

"No, Big Girl. I don't want you to lift a finger, let me make it all. I'll get the other guys to help me, but you should just relax and enjoy yourself." Wolfwood strode back to the bed and kissed his beloved. "You'll love my surprise, trust me."

**

"I don't cook, why am I helping you?"

"Well, Hornfreak, I believe you agreed to help me in hopes of earning a good deed."

"Besides, it sounds very important to Nicholas."

Midvalley glared at Legato. "You're supposed to be on my side. And it doesn't change the fact that I don't cook."

"That mush is quite evident. Your noodles are boiling over." Midvalley yelped and quickly removed the pot from the heat, burning his fingers in the process.

Vash poked his head through the door. "Everything's about ready out here, dinner almost done?"

Wolfwood glanced around the hurricane-wrecked kitchen. "Looks like. Is Knives joining us?"

Vash couldn't help but notice Legato stiffen. "No, he was quite forceful about staying in his room tonight. Could he know what you're planning?"

"Wouldn't surprise me. That sociopath would certainly avoid something like this."

"And when, exactly, are you going to tell _us what this is about?" demanded Midvalley, only to be ignored._

Dinner went along well enough, everyone laughing and enjoying themselves and asking what Wolfwood's surprise was every few minutes. Finally, when the dessert had been brought out, Wolfwood stood and turned to Millie before dropping to one knee. She immediately smiled, tearing up as she realized what was happening. "Millie, I love you. You know that. I don't know what my future holds or if I will live. But if I do, I want to live with you." He reached into his pocket, pulling out a shining silver cross and chain. "I can't afford a ring, but if you accept this, I'd truly love to marry you."

Millie glomped her priest, bringing them both to the floor. She didn't respond verbally, but that had a lot to do with her lips seeming to become glued to his.

"Did you see that?"

Wolfwood managed to look up at Zazie's outburst. "See what?"

The blonde reached down, pulling up Wolfwood's wrist. "Your band changed!"

Millie stood, pulling Wolfwood to his feet as well. "That's because marriage is a sacred union for anyone. Especially when more than one life is caught in the balance." Millie laughed and pulled Wolfwood after her up the stairs.

Without them, dinner continued with laughter and speculation. Through the din, Legato managed to slip away, sneaking upstairs himself and hiding in an empty room. He was shocked, some ten minutes later, when the door opened again to reveal Knives. Legato's breath caught as he stared at the blonde. "What are you doing here?"

Knives closed the door securely and leaned against the wall. "Avoiding the festivities. My room happens to be right next to 'the happy couple'," He sneered with obvious distaste. "What are you doing here?"

"Leaving." Legato stood, but didn't move as Knives lay one hand on the doorknob.

The blonde laughed. "Are you really so afraid of me?"

Legato looked away, slowly lowering himself back onto the edge of the bed. "I pity you. Because you can't see humans for what they are, just as the villains you've made of them." Legato shivered as Knives's cold laughter rolled through the room.

"Well, I must say this new outlook of yours is amusing. You used to understand so clearly, and now you're back among the spiders."

"I'd rather be with them than with you." 

"I will be sure to send you with them, then."

Legato looked up, startled. "What are you talking about?"

"Ask yourself this: would I willingly surround myself with spiders not under my control? No? Then why would I possibly allow myself to be kept here amongst them?" Legato stood, determination written across his face, but didn't move. Knives laughed again, the sound barely audible. "I could just stand here and keep you in this room all night, couldn't I?"

Legato looked around, blinking rapidly as he searched for an escape. Knives took a step forward and Legato tensed. It took all his control not to back away as Knives approached. "You say I am no longer my master, I no longer have power over you. Yet you make it so _easy to control you." _

He was less than a foot away now and Legato felt he could barely breath. "You don't control me. I won't let you."

Knives leaned forward and Legato shrank away. "Is that right?" Legato didn't reply, fighting not to shake under the blonde's stare. Knives dropped his voice to a whisper as his smile grew. "Run."

Legato's knees buckled and he stumbled to get out of the room. He rushed down the stairs, cursing himself for allowing Knives so much power over him. When he got to the bottom of the stairs, Vash spotted him with a laugh. "Legato, where'd you disappear to?" Legato ignored him, shuffling out the door and into the chilling night.

**

Midvalley gritted his teeth in the dust, gripping the deep gash in his forearm. Frantically he kicked against the ground to get behind a crate for protection. He breathed shallowly, trying to gather his senses. Grabbing his gun, he shoved himself up and fired back across the street.

There was a bout of cursing and Midvalley's partner appeared in the dirt beside him. "Man, this is bad. We gotta get outta here!"

"What about the money?"

"Forget that! We can sell this to someone who _doesn't want to have our heads too. I'm just worried about myself right now."_

Midvalley nodded, again rising to provide cover fire as the other boy scampered away. Taking a moment to ready himself, Midvalley launched himself down a side street into the cooling dusk. He ran until he was certain he'd gotten away.

Pausing for breath, Midvalley's hand dipped into his pocket. The money felt cold, like a lead weight against his fingertips. He should take it to Alex and get his share from her. Then again, the drop was a failure and she'd still have the goods to sell again, no one knew he'd actually managed to grab the pay. And he _did_ need the extra cash. It was to help his friends, not just himself. He continued to rationalize the theft all the way down the darkening road. 

He reached the house much later and quietly slipped through the front door. He found dinner waiting warm on the stove and Legato apparently dozing on the couch. "Huh, wonder why he's not in his own bed."

"I got tired of listening to the others fight over the second bed. It's easier to let them both sleep in there." Right, not asleep then. Legato sat up and eyed the other boy, eyes locking on the dark case he was carrying. "You got a sax?"

"Uh, yeah, it's a, um, job perk." Midvalley smiled nervously, handling the case like a protective mother.

Legato frowned. "Are you in trouble, Midvalley? What _is this new job of yours?"_

"It's nothing important. Just a job."

"But, your arm."

"It's nothing! Just a scratch," but Midvalley flinched as his bloodstained sleeve pulled across the fresh wound.

"Midvalley-"

"I'm fine!" he snapped, then continued in a softer tone so as not to wake the others. "I'm fine. Don't get involved, you have your own problems to deal with."

Midvalley watched as Legato's face fell. The blue-haired boy readjusted a small stack of books, hiding the titles from view. Suddenly he laughed. "We're doing quite well, aren't we? We're both lying, keeping secrets . . . We're both going to die and burn for our actions."

Midvalley stared at his black wristband and silently agreed.

**

Wolfwood came in looking miserable. He'd spent the morning at Vash's and usually came home happy after spending time with his new fiancée, so his strange mood attracted a lot of attention from the two boys in the house. Midvalley offered his arm, helping Wolfwood to the couch. "This is horrible!" he moaned.

Zazie rushed to grab a glass of cool water before returning to the priest's side. "What's wrong?"

"Millie's pregnant!" A light went on in Midvalley's head. He had always feared those words in the past. "Two months."

Zazie frowned. "Two months? But that would mean-"

"She had to have conceived the night before I died."

"But, Chapel, this is great news!"

Wolfwood shook his head, not even twitching at the name, and threw himself back onto the couch. "No, this is horrible. I can't let that baby grow up without a father and I still have to do another deed."

Midvalley scowled, feeling very alienated from the strange 'family love' thing going on. "So talk to Angel or pray or something. I'm sure you can work something out." Wolfwood shook his head again and Midvalley suddenly understood. He'd already gotten his leeway for being a father; Midvalley had wondered what the priest's first deed had been.

Legato pushed his way through the door then and sent a confused look towards the group. "Um, is something wrong?"

"Millie's pregnant," Midvalley offered immediately.

"And Chapel's afraid he won't be there for them," Zazie added.

Legato looked at Wolfwood with a little frown. "Is that true?"

"How? How am I supposed to do good if all of my time is spent either at work or trying to figure out how to help Millie?" There was true misery in the priest's words as he fell deeper into the soft cushions of the couch.

Legato frowned harder and grabbed Zazie's wrist, pulling him aside. "Well, now may not be the best time to bother him, but I've gotten a job at the plant. When he's calmed down a little, tell him. I also met a friend of yours, says her name is Isabel? I think she may know _you from the past. Perhaps from the orphanage?"_

Zazie nodded slightly, "She helped me out once before. I think I kinda remember her. It was bugging me that she knew my name, but I suppose that makes sense. Where is she?"

Legato smiled, sensing the little blonde's excitement despite his efforts at hiding it. "I set up a meeting for you tomorrow. It was my good deed for the day."

Zazie paused at the phrase, eyes immediately focusing on Legato's wrist and the sparkling blue strip of material there. "Legato!"

The older boy hushed him immediately. "This is _not something to bring up in front of Nicholas right now." His smile faded as he looked at the band. "It probably won't last anyway. Well, I have to run, get back to work. I'll see you guys later."_

Midvalley came up behind Zazie, placing a hand on his shoulder. ""What was that all about?"

Zazie frowned, shaking his head as more of Wolfwood's moans drifted from behind them. "I'm not sure, but I'm worried. I think I'm going to go see what's up with him." Zazie slipped out the door, leaving Midvalley to comfort the sulking priest, much to the musician's regret.

**

Hee^_^ Well, compared to most chapters, this one is composed of a bunch of really small, unrelated, and propably confusing scenes, huh? But I promise, it's *very* important plot development. And I finaly told you guys Wolfwood's first deed! Cool, huh? I've decided it's hard keeping track of Wolfwood's names. I mean, Legato calls him Nicholas most of the time, Zazie and Midvalley still call him Chapel, everyone else calls him Wolfwood, and Millie sometimes calls him Nick or some other cute name. And then there's the whole issue of spelling Millie's name, I think I change from chapter to chapter. *sigh* Confusing for poor little autoresses like me, no da! And where on Earth are my reveiws!? Riin! Sharem! Raditz! Where are you guys? *begins crying* Oh, well, I'm over it now. Just, more reveiws this time, kay? Pleeaaaaaseeee??????

Oh, I almost forgot. IMPORTANT!!! Not really, unless you're trying to keep track of my timeline (I actually do have one, no da) Days left: This chapter ends on day 18, so since I'm going off of a 31 day month, they have 13 days left to do their good deeds. And a deed count! Wolfwood's doing well with two deeds down and Zazie's not too bad off with only one. Midvalley's having a heck of a time, no deeds for him yet, and Legato's already done all three of his! But I assure you, it won't be *that* easy for my favorite tortured character in this series. 

Legato pops up. "Kalanoa, I am going to have to get you for this!"

Eep! Sorry, I, uh, gotta go now. Ja na!!


	7. To Make Him See

Konnichiwa, minna-san. I'm very sorry I'm late with this short little chappie, I had serious issues in the middle of the most important scene. But I do have good news to console you with ^_^ my muses are having a field day with this and a couple of my other fics, so I'm working overtime to get as much done as fast as I can. This means one very important thing – I'm gonna be posting faster! I'll be shooting for posts every week now, but if my muses truly go nuts, I could pump them out as fast as every few days. If my writing dies, I'll go back to every other week, but I don't think that's going to happen. Anyway, enough rambling. I don't own it, plagerism won't be tolerated, etc. I hope you like this *very important* climactic thingie (that's why it's short) Enjoy!

**

Legato looked over the console in front of him. The lights were blinking slowly in very rythmic patterns. It was very soothing. Turning his attention to another row of computers, Legato tapped a few keys. Nothing happened. He wrinkled his brow, tapping the same sequence again, still to no avail.

"You have to adjust for the temperature. That'll work, but only out here. It's a lot cooler in that little greenhouse." Legato turned to the man behind him and nodded before retyping the sequence with the adjustment made. The man smiled. "You're not bad at this. Have you worked in a geo plant before? You're so good with the machinery."

Legato shook his head slowly. "No, not really. But I know what I'm doing. I've, uh, had some experience." Legato looked through a small window into the larger room and stood for a moment transfixed. The energy from the room was incredible; he couldn't feel it through the thick glass, but he knew it was wonderful.

"Well, like I said, you're doing well. You can stay the rest of the day, right?" Legato nodded, turning to his superior once again. "I'll keep an eye on you for a while, but if you can do this job, I'll be leaving. Not like there's much to do, just make sure nothing goes haywire."

"Yes, thank you. For everything."

The man waved his hand and moved to yet another bank of computers. "Hey, you were qualified for the job, I needed the help. Oh, and the alarms are rigged throughout this place, so if you feel like wandering, you'll still know if something goes wrong. Just don't break anything."

Legato turned back to the window, blocking out the prattle of the older man. Every once in a while he would turn and check the computers, typing in a few sequences whenever they were needed. Eventually he noticed that the supervisor was gone, though he hadn't noticed when he left. Legato smiled, happy to be alone at last. Carefully he opened the door he'd been staring through and slipped inside.

It was beautiful and so warm. The plant hummed around him and Legato could feel his tension draining out of him. He went to the far wall, picking up a vile and examining it. Suddenly, a loud tapping made him spin towards the door. Zazie's face was visible beyond the glass. Legato paled and hurried across the room, swinging the door open. "What are your doing here?"

Zazie stepped back, staring at the blue haired boy. "I came to see you, see about this job you told me about. What were you doing in there? Aren't you not allowed in there?"

"I've been around plants before. I know what I'm doing."

"Yeah, but why were you in there? I know it's dangerous." Zazie eyed the vile his friend was carrying. "What is so important?"

"I was just 'wandering'. I had permission to do that." Legato turned to the computers and tucked the vile away in his pocket. Zazie recognized the hint to leave, but didn't move.

"What is going on?" Legato didn't respond. "Listen, I know you're up to something, what is it? You've got your deeds, you're safe! I _wish I had that security. So why the hell do you keep moping around like this? And _what_ are you hiding?!"_

Legato spun on the little blonde. "I'm just trying to get by with more than my own life. There are more important things than just surviving, can't you understand that?"

Zazie took several steps back, a glimmer of the old Legato shining through and frightening him. "Legato . . . what's wrong? Is this about Knives?"

Lagato threw his arms into the air. "Of _course it's about him! When is it _not_ about him? Look, take my advice and leave it alone. I can handle this myself."_

"You're freaking out over a simple question! You are obviously _not handling it!"_

Legato grabbed Zazie's shoulders and pushed him to the door. "I'll be fine. I'm just trying to help him, all right? Do not get involved."

Zazie sighed as the door was shut in his face. He wasn't going to give up that easily. Hiding away as the day moved on, Zazie waited until an older man entered the building and, a moment later, Legato stepped into the setting suns. Zazie followed the boy until they reached the center of town.

Legato sat down at a small café table and ordered two milks. He sat patiently, sipping at his drink for a moment before he sighed. "You know, I've always been better at stealth then you, Zazie. You're more the type that disappears in a crowd than in the shadows."

After a moment's hesitation, Zazie stepped around the corner and took the other seat, a distinct blush on his cheeks. "Hi. Uh, thanks for the drink."

Legato took another sip and leaned back in his chair. "So?"

"So what?"

"Well, you're obviously not going to let this drop. So, ask what you are going to ask so we can both get on with our lives."

Zazie stewed quietly, his cheeks slowly returning to their normal tan. "Well, what do you want me to say? I have a bad feeling about this, about what you're up to. Tell me what you're doing, please?"

Legato sighed, finishing his milk and setting it on the table with a clink. "I want to help someone other than myself before I leave this world again."

Zazie looked at the boy in front of him who was carefully avoiding his eyes. "Knives?" Legato nodded, staring out at the sands of the desert. "But, you can't help someone that doesn't want help. What do you plan on doing?"

Legato reached into his pocket distractedly, pulling out a few bills and laying them on the table. He looked at Zazie again and his eyes were hollow. "I'm going to make him see." Standing, Legato walked slowly from the table, calling back over his shoulder at the blonde. "I answered, now go home. Don't throw away what you have."

Zazie watched him walk away, more confused than he started. He only knew one thing for sure; Legato was doing something very dangerous. Something he expected to cause his soon death. Zazie lept up from the table and hurried to Vash's house, taking a different route than the other boy. It was time to get outside help.

He found Vash behind his house, tending a tiny flower box with a few scragly plants fighting for life. The gunman looked up as Zazie came bounding around the corner, out of breath. "Zazie! Is something wrong?"

"Vash, I'm really worried about Legato. I think he's going to try something with Knives."

Vash crinkled his brow, setting the watering can aside half way through his work. "Try something? Like what?"

"I don't know! But he's been acting funny lately, referencing death . . ."

In the front of the house, Legato stepped onto the small porch. He could hear the two blondes talking around the corner, but ignored them. Stepping inside, he took a moment to breath in the stuffy air. Knives was just coming out of the kitchen, a small sandwhich in his hands. He caught sight of Legato and smiled cruely. "Well, look what we have here. What brings you here, spider?"

"I'm not going to let you hurt any of the others, Knives." The plant snorted and stepped forward, trying to intimidate the lanky boy. "It won't work, Knives. I've already decided that I'm doing this. No matter the consequences."

Knives's mouth turned down as he processed the determined look on Legato's face. A chill ran through him as he realised that he knew nothing of how Legato would truly act; he had no idea of what the boy was even capable of. A memory of the blue haired one pointing a gun at him flashed through the blonde's mind, his blood ran cold and he knew he'd gone too far with his fun.

Vash and Zazie started around the house, hoping to intercept Legato and dissuade him from whatever he was planning to do. A sudden cry made them both jump, now running around to the front door. Vash burst through the door first to see his brother on his knees, clawing at his face. Vash surged forward, knocking a stunned Legato out of the way in his haste. He grabbed Knives's wrists, pulling his hands away from his face.

"Holy shit!" Zazie saw the tall man's eyes and felt queasy. The skin was discolored, already forming small sores. Zazie flew to the kitchen, grabbing a water jug from the fridge and running back to the twin plants. 

Knives was muttering a string of constant curses that made even Zazie's ears burn - quite an accomplishment - not the least of which were directed at Legato. Vash held his brother firmly as Zazie cleaned out his eyes quickly. "Just hang on. You'll be all right. Oh my god, what the hell happened?"

"That fucking bastard attacked me again! Shit! When I get my hands on him-"

Zazie caughed, "It's not like you don't deserve it."

Knives roared with mixed pain and anger. He wrenched one hand free of Vash's grasp and swung blindly at the younger boy. Zazie was caught on his jaw and landed hard on the ground before Vash reigned in the volatile blonde's fists again. Zazie was not to be deterred, springing back up and going right back to cleaning his former master's eyes.

Eventually Knives quieted, his rather clever list of obsenities dying into pained moans as his energy started to give out. Vash had no intentions of moving, providing what little comfort he could. His gaze, however, was fixed on Legato. The boy was curled against the wall staring in front of him, eyes unfocused and not truly seeing anything. Following the gunman's gaze, Zazie crossed the room and crouched beside the other boy. "Legato? _Now will you tell me what this was supposed to accomplish? What did you think you were doing?!"_

The blue haired one shook his head slightly and his eyes dropped to his lap where his hands lay. "I know this will work. It has to." 

Zazie was still confused. "_What_ will work? Legato, do you even understand what you've done?"

Legato didn't move, staring at his hands. "I know exactly what I've done." He focused on the thin band of material on his wrist. It was black again. "I gave him the only thing I had to give. I gave him everything."

**

Now it gets interesting, ne? I'm having so much fun with this! But, readers, I still need good deeds. Specifically, I haven't been able to think of one deed each for Legato Wolfwood and Zazie. I want to post every week, but if I don't have the material, it'll be harder. They aren't all that important, but they kind of have to happen. So, just if you have any ideas, shout 'em my way. And any other comments are greatly loved ^_^ Ja!


	8. Consequences

Hi everyone. I know, I'm late if you're counting on the one week scale. But, I can blame that on the horrible-ness of school and injury related depression. (Damn these bad knees!) All right, uh, what else. I don't own it. Uh, oh, a bit of a warning. I hope none of you are too squeamish about swearing ^_^ It picks up this chapter, even worse than last chapie. But can you blame the poor characters? I mean, fess up, you'd curse too.

**

Vash sighed for what felt like the hundredth time that morning. He twirled the empty glass vile in his fingers, trying to figure out what had been in it earlier. Zazie said the blue haired youth had gotten it from the local plant. That did not narrow his choices much, and those that were left weren't exactly of the safest variety. With a small groan, Vash set the glass vile aside and rubbed his head; all this was giving him a headache.

Zazie came down the stairs, rubbing an equally aching head. He'd been up there with Legato all night and hadn't gotten anywhere with the other youth. He was in such a foul mood, that even gaining a deed couldn't cheer him up. He wasn't sure if his wristband had changed color because of his attempts to help Knives or his attempts to stop Legato or both, but it just made his failure to succeed that much more painful. With a yawn, Zazie walked over to the couch and flopped down. "I'm spent, someone _else_ try to talk to him!"

Midvalley, having come over to see what was wrong when the two boys hadn't come home the previous night, groaned loudly. "I guess that's me, right?" He stood slowly only to have a powerful hand grab his shoulder. He jumped, skin crawling as Knives held him tight.

"_I_ will do it." Midvalley gulped as he looked at the blonde's gauze wrapped eyes. He did not want to be Legato right now. It was pretty risky just being himself at the moment.

Zazie stared at Vash, concern clear on his tired face. "You aren't going to let him go up there, are you?" Vash didn't respond. He turned his gaze away, not willing to watch as he did nothing.

Legato had his eyes tightly shut as he lay curled on the bed. He heard the door open and close and he turned his head away, hoping whoever it was would take the hint and leave. He could hear a hand being trailed along the foot of the bed and then around the corner. Suddenly Legato realized who it must be, the only person that would have that mannerism. He gasped, turning quickly to face the man and snapping his eyes open. Sure enough, there stood Knives in all his glory. Even blinded, he was a most intimidating visage. Legato had known this was coming. He had known that if he stayed, Knives would come to take revenge, it was part of the reason he hadn't left.

Suddenly Legato was gone, the room melting around him. With a gasp he turned a circle, staring at the sand around him. He was in the middle of the desert, nothing in sight. Except Knives. The blonde stood there in perfect health, staring at him. Legato swallowed hard, getting over the initial shock and letting the reality – if he could call this illusion reality – sink in. Legato hung his head to avoid looking at the blonde and gasped as his eyes took in his old body. Complete with white coat and armor.

"It's what you are." Legato looked up in shock. "You were never meant to become a child again, so fragile and weak. And foolish."

"No. This isn't what I am; this is what you want me to be. A servant to you and a slave to fear. I am not this anymore."

"You arrogant little bastard. You act so self-richeous now, yet we both know that in life you were worse than I was. And you think you can change me? You can't even change yourself!"

Legato clenched his eyes shut, shaking his head fiercely to deny the other man's claims. "I know that's not true. I won't let you convince me otherwise." But the doubt was there, strong in his voice.

Knives circled the other man. "You haven't accomplished anything. I will heal in little more than a week, surely you realize that."

"Then I pray a week is enough." He turned slightly, locking eyes again with the man. "Knives, give it a chance. See humans for what they are, let them help you."

"Help me! See them for what they are? You're more delusional than I thought."

"Delusional? Stop acting like you pity me, Knives! I know what you really think, I saw your eyes. You're afraid of me, because you trained me to be what I am. And you have no idea what I'll do with that teaching."

Knives scowled. "I fear no one, least of all a miserable child like you."

Legato sighed, apparently tired of this argument. "Knives, _Master, please. I'm asking you to give them the chance to prove themselves. If you want to hate me, that's fine, I knew you would. But I gave everything to give you this chance, please don't throw it away."_

Knives frowned. "You gave up your second chance." It was not a question and Legato looked at him, surprised. "Then I'll take solace in the fact that when you die, it will be with the knowledge that you have accomplished _nothing."_

Legato closed his eyes tightly again and he could almost feel himself wake up from a dream. He opened his eyes slowly and found himself back in the upstairs room of Vash's house, across the room from the bed he'd been lying in. Briefly he wished that he could have been aware of the illusion and reality at the same time as Knives clearly was. Then again, considering the condition of his body, perhaps he was glad that he hadn't been aware of the beating. With a groan, Legato pushed himself off the ground as far as he could, giving up on getting back to the bed and just trying to get a little more comfortable. He looked at the door, just seeing Knives disappear through it.

Midvalley slipped through the door and shut it lightly before moving to the prone boy. "Are you all right?" Legato glared weakly and Midvalley smiled, setting a first aid kit down beside them. "I'm sorry I let him do it, but I wasn't about to stand in his way. Was it worth it?"

"Only if you make it worth it. Midvalley, please help him." The brunette nodded, giving his silent promise, and went about cleaning and dressing his friend's wounds.

**

The morning was bright. Too bright. And too early. Why did morning have to come so early? With a groan of heartfelt regret, Wolfwood sat up in bed, rubbing his eyes and stretching. He blinked in surprise to see that Millie was already awake and, judging from the smells drifting through the door, busy in the kitchen all ready. Wolfwood detangled from the sheets and hurried to see his Big Girl, wrapping her in a hug from behind. "You're too good for me, I don't deserve it."

Millie only responded with a giggle, twisting enough to give her priest a kiss before going back to the stove. Wolfwood turned smoothly, seeing if anyone else was home. Sadly, he was not alone with his fiancée, Midvalley lay on the couch and Zazie was sitting beside him. Oh well, at least now maybe he could get some answers. "So, where _have_ you two been? And where's-"

"Legato?" Zazie turned to look at the older man and the deep rings under his eyes were clearly visible. "He's recovering at Vash's. On Millie's bed, actually." The blonde then launched into a detailed – and rather bitter – explanation of Legato's new job and his subsequent run in with Knives that lasted through breakfast. "I'm filling in until he can go back to work," he finally finished.

Wolfwood stood, pulling on his suit jacket with a frown. "I've got to get going." Millie stood, nodding, and bidding him farewell. Wolfwood paused at the door, looking back at the two boys. "I'm only going to say this once. You should let Legato deal with his own problems, don't get involved in it."

Millie frowned, laying a hand on her love's shoulder. "You must be worried about him? Don't be so mean, Nickie-kun."

Wolfwood shrugged out of her grasp with a frown. "I'm going to be late. I'll see you tonight, Big Girl."

The door closed behind him and Zazie let out a short, frustrated scream. Spinning, he grabbed one of the threadbare throw pillow and hurled it at the door. "What ever happened to 'love thy neighbor' you idiot!" He turned, kicking the corner of the couch. "Oh, shit! That hurt!" Hopping on one foot now, the blonde was glaring at Midvalley. "You _know why he's acting like this, right? Tell me what the fuck is wrong with him!"_

Midvalley was on his feet now, too, but he was at least still calm. "I've told you before that I won't. We're supposed to be starting anew, with a clean slate this time."

"But Chapel's being an idiot and holding onto old grudges! Tell me what's up and maybe I can get him to start helping us instead of acting like he's so god damned superior!"

Midvalley crossed his arms over his chest for a moment and waited until Zazie was glaring at him again. "This isn't about Chapel. If I told you what happened between the two of them, odds are, Legato's side isn't the side you'd be on." Zazie's mouth dropped in disbelief. Was it so bad? Midvalley sighed, "You're going to be late for work, you have to keep that job if we want to keep eating."

Still grumbling and cursing under his breath, Zazie stomped out the door and left Midvalley alone with Millie. The big girl frowned at him. "What could possibly so bad?"

Midvalley plopped back onto the couch. "Chapel and Legato have a hell of a lot of history and _none_ of it's good. But there was this one time, after he'd been traveling with you guys for a while. I won't tell you what happened, but suffice to know it was horrible and Chapel never forgave him. I'm ashamed to say I was a part of it, too, though he doesn't know. I don't know, maybe I'm just covering my own ass by not telling."

Millie paused, watching as the musician hung his head. Slowly she walked over to the couch and sat beside him before pulling him into a tight hug. She smiled at his muffled 'eep' of confusion, even laughed a little when she felt his cheeks redden against her palm. "Mr. Midvalley, you're doing the right thing. Everyone has a right to their secrets and you're right, Mr. Legato should have a fresh start." She pulled away, her smile beaming ever brighter. "Can I ask for a favor though? Please, if it gets really bad, will you do something?"

Midvalley nodded sadly, not having the heart to mention that things were already really bad, and stared down at his hands. He didn't move as Millie stood, muttering that she was going to be late to her job as well. Midvalley sniffed; it must have been a conspiracy to be late this morning. Oh well, he didn't have to worry about things like that; Alex wasn't really big on schedules. However, he had made a promise and there was somewhere he needed to be. With a heartfelt sigh he stood, sliding his shoes on and slipping out the door on his way to meet with Knives.

**

"GET THE FUCK AWAY FROM ME!!!"

Midvalley cursed loudly and fluently as he was slammed into the wall. For a blind guy, Knives sure had good aim. "I'm just trying to help! If you go around on your own, you're not going to have _any shins left by the time you heal. Not to mention your diet will get a serious boost in charcoal."_

"I can get around fine, you miserable little spider, and I don't do the cooking." Knives swung wildly, arm passing smoothly over the musician's head as he ducked. The blonde gasped as Midvalley pressed against his chest suddenly, trying to get him to sit on the bed. With a growl, he firmly grabbed Midvalley's hair and twisted him around. He wasn't sure if the boy was looking up or down, but his spine was clearly prominent and Knives used it as leverage to throw him across the room again.

Midvalley landed with a thud, clutching at his offended scalp. "All right, all right, you want to do this the hard way? We'll do it the hard way. You come to me; if what you say is true, I'll back off, deal?"

"I am not going to perform like some circus freak for you."

"Interesting choice of words," Midvalley muttered, mind focusing on just how accurate his analogy sounded. He looked over the room, nicely gliding over Knives's pissed face. There had to be some way he could get the pig headed man to cooperate. Quickly he dashed to the bedside table, noting with pleasure that Knives was tracking his movement. He slid open drawers and shut them heavily after seeing nothing of interest . . . but no one said there was anything wrong with a bit of bluffing. "Well, what do we have here?"

Knives stiffened as the other boy walked back towards the door. "What the hell do you have?" 

Midvalley smiled tensely. Apparently the blonde did hold something dear, even if he hadn't been able to spot it. "You want it back, you have to come and get it." Knives growled audibly but made no move. "You don't want it? That's fine." 

Midvalley stepped to the door, watching as Knives slowly turned red. Suddenly the blonde lunged forward, apparently with the intent to grab whatever he believed Midvalley had a hold of. That was his intent, anyway. He had a bit of a problem with this, however, when his foot hit the foot of the bed. He cursed, twisting around violently and throwing himself off balance.

Midvalley gasped as the blonde nearly fell to the floor. "Are you all right?!"

Knives spun again, grabbing Midvalley's shirt to stay on his feet. That and to get leverage on the shorter boy. Suddenly Midvalley found himself against the wall, feet slanted so that toes were barely touching the ground. "If you ever try something like that again, you won't have to worry about proving you deserve a second life, you won't get the chance to live it."

**

All right, well, that's it. If anyone cares, Wolfwood's past thingie will be coming out either next chapter or the one after. Poor Midvalley, he suffers so and _still no good deed. And you just gotta feel bad about Legato-chan. Grah, angsty muses are attacking me. Oh well, hope youe enjoyed ^_^ I'm still looking for those good deeds people!_


	9. Dreams

Moshi everyone. I'm actually on time ^_^  Which is probably early for you guys, since I don't think anyone is used to one week posting, myself included. But, it's here. If you've missed some, you're going to want to go back and catch up, a lot has happened in the last couple chapies. I'm so evil sometimes. Enjoy

  
***

Wolfwood smiled as the desert suns heated his back and brow. It felt so good to know his journey was at an end. There was a rusting swingset off to the side next to a jungle gym that was more likely to give a kid tetnis than anything else. All and all, it was good to see the orphanedge at December again. Except that he had no idea what he was doing there.

Suddenly the kids noticed his presence, streaming out of the doors like a stampede. Happily, Wolfwood set his cross aside and knelt in the tide of young ones. They latched onto his legs and faught to get hugged before the others. One little girl grabbed his hand, refusing to let go. "You're back! You've been gone so long, tell me you aren't leaving again? Please!"

Wolfwood smiled. A dream, he knew that's what it was. "I'm sorry I've been gone so long. I'll come back as soon as I can, you have my word." This was God's way of reminding him that, second chance or no, he had a responsibility to these kids and he'd been ignoring it. That had to be it. Behind him, several of the children were working in tandem to try and lift his cross. He turned to them, putting one hand underneath and lifting the cross slightly. The children cheered, believing themselves to be the ones lifting it.

Suddenly Wolfwood stopped. He knew what day this was. There was no particular way to tell, of course, he just _knew._ His heart almost seemed to stop. This was a dream, it was supposed to be a _good_ dream. He stood quickly, sheparding the kids inside with the promise that he'd play more once they were out of the sun. No, wait, that's what he'd done in real life and it hadn't changed anything. He stopped at the door, turning to see three of the kids had lagged behind.

Against the backdrop of the sky and desert, Legato looked like he was glowing. The kids were staring at him, motionless. Whether it was from fear or the other man's will, Wolfwood wasn't sure. "What are you doing here?" No, no! That's what happened before, he couldn't let this repeat itself.

"You've been avoiding us. Master has begun to question your loyalty."

Wolfwood bit back the comment in his mind. Something about arrogant son of a, um, and shoving a cactus, er. Well, easily not the smartest thing to utter while staring down an angry psychopath. Determined not to repeat his mistakes, Wolfwood jogged the short distance until he stood in front of the other man. "Legato, I appologize. Tell me what you want."

Legato's face darkened, his mouth contorting into a scowl, almost as if he had heard the insult. "I'm here to teach you a lesson about following orders."

"No! Legato, don't do this!" He shot out his hands, firmly gripping both of Legato's shoulders and shaking him slightly. "Please don't do this." Behind him, he heard the little girl scream and fall. Shocked, he turned to see her sprawled on the sand. He clenched his eyes shut, not wanting to see, but the image was already burned into his mind. He had had to bury that girl and both of the boys, died from self inflicted wounds. 

Suddenly Legato seemed to snap to the present, reacting to Wolfwood for the first time. He backfisted the priest, sending him sprawling to the ground. "You must be taught respect. Have I made myself clear?"

Wolfwood sat in silence, not looking at him. Slowly he cradeled his jaw. That had _hurt_. But, that wasn't possible, this was a dream. He could hear one of the boys wimper behind him. He clasped his hands over his ears to block out the sound. "This isn't happening, I can't go through this again."

"Nicholas?"

"You aren't real, you bastard!"

"Nicholas! That's not nice!" Wolfwood snapped his eyes open to see Millie's face. She was leaning over him, eyes wide with concern. "That's better. It was just a nightmare, are you all right?"

Wolfwood sat up quickly, burrying his head in Millie's neck and holding onto her for dear life. "I will be. I'm sorry to have worried you." Millie made a sad noise, hugging him back and just stood there to comfort him.

Finally Wolfwood pushed away, wiping the memory from his mind as best he could. "Millie, I need to go somewhere. I shouldn't be gone long, is that all right?"

"Where are you going? Can you afford it?"

Wolfwood stopped, a frown plastered on his face. No, he couldn't afford it, but he had to go. "I can probably get some time off from work, the resturaunt is owned by a really nice couple. If I take what we have, I can afford the bus fare, but . . ." With a silent curse, he searched his pockets for his cigarettes and drew the last one in the pack into his mouth.

Millie was watching him closely as he sat in quiet contemplation. Finally she stood and crossed to the door of the room. "Go, Nick. The others will be fine, I'll make sure of it. I'll watch over them for you, all right?"

"I know I should wait. I should stay with you, I have responsibilities here. But . . . they're important to me too and I want – I _need_ to see them again before I'm out of time." He turned to Millie and saw her nod and leave. He stood to stop her, but she was already gone. Wolfwood thought about it a moment and sighed. He couldn't think of a single time he'd seen her frowning like that except once. The morning before he left. _I'll come back to you this time, Big Girl. I swear it._

Wolfwood hurried to the resturaunt he was working at, just catching the elderly couple as they opened up and then went quickly to the bus station and baught his ticket. With less than a half hour before he left, he ran across town and to Vash's house. Vash was downstairs on the couch; he looked utterly exhausted. With a muffled groan, the gunman put on one of his infamous empty smiles and stood up. "You're here early."

Wolfwood nodded, realizing from his friend's face that he must look equally exhausted. "I was actually looking for Midvalley, he wasn't at home. Is he here?" Vash nodded and pointed upstairs. With a rather forced smile of his own, Wolfwood climbed the stairs as fast as he could.

"You worthless, filthy-!"

"Oh, shut up! It's too early to listen to you yell at me!" Wolfwood paused, confused. The confusion didn't last long as a large vase flew out of a room, crashing into the opposite wall. Midvalley hurried out of the room, half crouched with his hands over his head. A few more items could be heard crashing, clearly missing the door and several choice phrases followed the musician. "Jeez, I'm only trying to help!"

"You're asking for it, messing with him like that."

Midvalley jumped, clutching his chest. "Oh, Chapel. It's you. You need something?" Midvalley walked to another door in the little hallway and pushed his way through. Wolfwood followed after a small serving tray hit the wall with a vengence. 

Legato was laying on the bed in that room and Wolfwood blanched, looking away from the boy. "Midvalley, I need a favor from you." The sax player looked up, one eyebrow raised. "I'm leaving. I left your name at work, in case they really need some help. If they contact you, I need you to go in for me."

"You're kidding me, right? Why should I help you! What if they call while I'm working?"

"Then do what you think is more important. But I'm asking that you help these people for me."

Midvalley was obviously angry, glaring with all his might at the older boy. "Where the hell are you going anyway? What could be more important than money, since we're so lacking in that?"

"I'm going to December."

The change of mood was instantaneous in Midvalley. He stopped, dropping his gaze to the floor. "I'll cover for you."

"Huh?"

"I'll take care of it, go see your kids." Wolfwood was in shock for a moment before he smiled and hurried out the door. Midvalley sighed and sat on the edge of Legato's bed, rubbing his temple.

"He dreamt about it last night. He must have."

Midvalley looked at the blue haired boy. "I didn't realize you were awake. You think that's what it is?"

"He refused to look at me. Usually he's glaring with all the hatred he can muster. He still doesn't know you were there, does he?"

"I don't know whether or not to feel grateful for that."

"I deserve his hatred more, you didn't kill any of his precious children."

"No, I just scared them and forced them to see Chapel for what he was. There are worse things than death, sometimes."

"You know, I thought I'd always have that scar he gave me."

"Let's talk about anything else now, all right? What I did to them – to him – I don't want to relive it any more than he does."

Legato sighed and nodded, taking in the large bruise on Midvalley's neck for the first time. "I take it you're not having any luck with Master?"

"When did you go back to calling him that? And no, I'm not having any luck. You'd think that blind, he'd be easier to dodge."

"He's not?"

"Well, I guess he is, but he tries to hit ya so much more often that it sorta cancels out, ya know?"

"I'm sorry. It's my fault for asking you to do this."

"No, forget it. It's annoying, but if it can get through to him, it's worth it."

Legato sat up straighter and winced as his bruises were stretched. "You should probably get back to him."

"Huh? Why?" A second later, the musician's question was answered as a long string of cursing echoed from the stairwell. With a groan, Midvalley rushed out the door to see Knives crawling up to his feet again. "If you want to go downstairs, tell me and I'll help you down."

"I don't need your help, you miserable little spider." Nevertheless, he accepted the boy's shoulder for support and they stumbled down the stairs together. "Pathetic, worthless, human." Midvalley did his best to tune out the blonde's ranting until they reached the first floor again. Suddenly, Knives twisted, catching the musician off guard and shoving him away. Midvalley cursed, tripping over the end of the couch and landing quite uncerimoniously on top of Vash, who woke from his doze in a fit of coughs.

With a groan, Midvalley pushed himself up to glare at the blinded man. "I should just let you fall down the stairs next time and hopefully you'll break your neck and be out of my hair."

***

So, how's everyone been doing? Lots of midterms? I figure that's why I haven't seen some of my reviewers. Like lyerial! I got too used to see you review first every chapter. And Raditz! Ne, you must have either read Monday or Tuesday – here ya go, some more fic to sustain your life. I look forward to more mindless babble ^_^ In any case, I wish you all good luck in school and hope you send me lots of reviews soon ^_^ I'll see you all next week.


	10. Returnings

Well, that was fun. Um, I thought that I could avoid the school crunch, but obviously such was not the case. So I took a week off to hermit, but I'm back now and with a nice new chapter. For those of you attempting to keep track of time, we skipped a few days. This is now day 26 of the 31 day month, time is running out. This'll probably be wrapped up in just a few more chapters, so I hope you like it ^_^

 Midvalley's back hit the wall with enough froce to knock his breath out in a loud woosh. His head slammed into the wall next with a crack and it took a moment for him to relearn how to breathe. The room swam in front of him as he gazed around in a daze. Alex was beside the register, a large bag of money clutched in her sweaty fist, screaming at the others. One of the women was exchanging shots with the resturaunt owner while most of the others were fighting with the patrons of the resturaunt whose lunch had been interupted.

What had hit him? Midvalley tried to clear the fog from his mind and his eyes landed on the brute of a man in front of him. Oh yeah, _that_ had hit him. Crap, and those men outside were the local police force finally showing their scrawney hides. He watched as Alex noticed the new threat and her eyes widened. She began her shouts anew, yelling with vehemence for her men to get out. Actually, she'd been yelling that since the heist had started to go wrong, but they were having trouble following the orders.

Midvalley fought to think clearly, his eyes darting around. The man in front of him noticed and moved to grab him again just as Midvalley jumped to grab his sax. He hesitated just a moment; wasn't he supposed to be starting with a clean slate? Could he really go back to his old ways of life? Then again, he wouldn't have a new life if he got arrested. Despite his earlier indecisivness, it felt good to play his old songs again and feel the power flow through him. It was satisfying to see people and tables forced back. 

Alex and the others hurried out the door. Midvalley hit a sour note, all music immediately fading from his mind and he followed in a rush. Several streets and corners later, the groups came to rest in an alley. Immediately most of them broke into applause and catcalls, many complimenting Midvalley's music and a few wondering where he'd aquired the strange power. Midvalley only nodded slightly, his knees giving out and tumbling him to the ground. Crap, he had no balance and he was seeing double too. Instantly Alex was in front of him. "Are you all right?"

"I'm fine." Midvalley leaned back onto his heels and began making the slow, deliberate movements to make sure his Sylvia was all right.

Alex grabbed his head, focing him to focus on her outstretched hand. "You took a hard hit back there. How many fingers do you see?"

Midvalley blinked, quickly seperating the images in his mind. "Two. Now lay off." He stood, forcing himself to stand steady. "We need to get out of here, can I have my cut? There's somewhere I need to be anyway." Alex looked uncomfortable, not at all convinved, but she had no way of making the boy stay. Reluctantly she handed over a small wad of bills. Midvalley smiled and started moving right away. "Thanks. I'll see you guys tonight."

As soon as he'd rounded the corner, Midvalley dropped the act. His adrenaline was wearing off and his head was fogging more with each step. _All the more reason to get to the house._ Midvalley had experienced this before, a slight concussion muting his senses. He actually remembered it quite well, the nausea and headache far too familiar. Actually, it wasn't that different from a hangover, which he had even more experience with. It would pass, better to just wait it out somewhere safe.

Midvalley stepped onto the porch and opened the door as a smile lit his face. Safe, that would be the day. If he wanted safe, he would have gone home to sleep; but he was here. With a sigh he steped inside and started looking around for Knives. The blonde had actually gotten more violent since Legato had healed enough to return to his work. Actually, Knives was almost completely cut off from people right now. Chapel hadn't returned yet, the girls avoided him in general, Zazie spent all of his free time with that Isabel girl – Midvalley himself resented that the little blonde had a girlfriend when he didn't. Since his attack on Legato, even Vash had been avoiding Knives a little bit. Midvalley stopped at the thought, his search abandoned. Could it be that the volatile plant actually craved human contact? Was it this newfound solitude that was making him so irritable?

Out of nowhere, a hand pushed Midvalley forward. The attack wasn't all that violent, simply meant as a shove to get the musician moving, but it sent him to the floor none the less. He stayed there, fighting down another wave of nausea that the fall had brought on. "So, what, I can't even step in the door now without getting hit?"

"Maybe you should take the hint and leave me alone. Everyone else has gotten the message, why haven't you?"

Midvalley took a few more deep breaths and turned in place, not bothering to stand, and his breath caught. Knives was glowering at him with all the blonde's impressive strength. The skin around his eyes was pale with several tiny dark spots that looked like they'd be permanent scars, but the bandages were gone. "Shit!" Midvalley fell into a scowl, glaring now at the blonde. "You're healed now?"

"You didn't think this was going to be a permanent arrangement, did you?"

Midvalley shook his head, slipping into rant mode in place of something intelligent to say. "Holy crap. If you can see fine, make your own damned lunch. Jeez, wish someone would've told me before I dragged my ass halfway across this friggin' town. I don't want to be here and you clearly don't want me to be here-" He stopped, looking at Knives's carefully guarded face. He was angry, showing every sign of hating the boy before him, but he wouldn't meet Midvalley's eyes. _He doesn't want me to leave. He made sure I didn't know so that I'd come._

Knives started moving, heading for the kitchen. "Well then, you'd better get your pathetic being out of my sight."

Midvalley pushed himself up with a grunt. "Why?" He watched as Knives stopped, just a hint of surprise on his face. "I'm here, may as well stay, right? But I'm in no shape to cook, we can order out. I know Chapel's resturaunt'll send us something if I ask nicely."

Knives was quiet for a moment. Midvalley sighed and sat down on the couch, the world spinning and making it hard to stay upright. "You're hurt."

"It's nothing, just got knocked into a wall. Thanks for the concern though."

"And why would I be concerned for a miserable spider like you?" The blonde was scowling again and strode to the other side of the room where he busied himself with several papers.

_But he hasn't left._

Lunch was actually courtesy of Vash. Lured down by the sounds of their fight, Knives had sent him almost immediately to retreive something for them. He was keeping quiet and for some time, Midvalley had been watching him and wondering why he seemed to be acting so nice. Well, nice compared to his usual demeanor, he wasn't yelling or making threats. _Perhaps it's because I can leave now. Before I was sort of obligated to stay, but I can leave now if I want. _He kept looking at the blonde, but Knives was completely ignoring him.

"You must feel so alone."

Knives froze. Slowly he set down his pen and turned to look at the saxx player. "What did you say?"

"When we worked for you, you seemed to have everything and you were working towards getting even more. But now you've lost it all and you're alone. Why won't you let someone get close and help you?"

There was a pause for a few seconds before the door opened to reveal a bag laden Vash. Knives glanced at the gunman for just a second and Midvalley watched as the blonde's expression softened almost imperceptibly before he looked away. "Ypu have an interesting theory. Worng, but interesting."

Vash set the bag of food down and smiled. "Have I missed something?"

Midvalley shook his head quickly. "Nothing." _I only figure out that your brother is afraid of losing you and being all alone._ With a sigh Midvalley reached out for the food. He made a silent promise that he wouldn't leave, evem though he could. Knives may have been an arogant, evil, condescending bastard . . . but he was still human, so to speak, and he needed to be with people just as much as anyone else. A glimmer caught his eye and Midvalley watched in amazement as his wristband slowly changed from black to white and a smile crossed his face.

**

Wolfwood walked along the streets in the warmth of the setting suns. It was starting to cool off for the night, but the second sun hadn't yet hit the horizon, making it a perfect temperature for a stroll. His cross was slung across his back like normal and Wolfwood was eager to get home. He needed to be home. He needed to see Millie again and he needed to forget about the weekend that had just ended. It had been nice to see his kids again, but he would just as soon forget it, at least for a few hours.

It was late enough that Millie should be home, so Wolfwood headed to Vash's house at a brisk pace to see her. When he reached the house and saw Midvalley just leaving, however, Millie was suddenly the last thing on his mind. "Hornfreak!" Midvalley paused and looked up, surprised to see the priest again. "You bastard!"

"I'm, uh, glad to see you got home safe?"

"I can't believe you would go around acting as if nothing was wrong. You thought I'd never find out?"

"Uh . . . Chapel? Are you-" Midvalley was forced to shut his mouth and dodge as Wolfwood leapt forward in an attack.

"Don't you _ever_ call me that again!" Wolfwood clenched his jaw, forcing himself to calm down slightly. When he opened his mouth again, his voice was literally shaking with anger. "I went to see my kids, and you know what? They knew it was me. There's nothing better than the innocence of children, I barely even had to explain why I'm different now, they just knew. And do you know what they did?" Midvalley gulped, suddenly understanding what was going on. "They ran from me! Because of you!"

"That was a long time ago. I'm not proud of it, but it's in the past and I can't change it now. I'm sorry."

"You're sorry?" Wolfwood looked like he was ready to shoot the boy in front of him when a hand landed on his shoulder. He didn't even flinch, his anger visably growing. "This doesn't involve you, Legato. Remove your hand from my shoulder or I will remove it from your arm."

"Nicholas, you need to calm down. Isn't it better in the end that they know what you are like? That they know the suffering you went through for them?"

Wolfwood spun, slapping Legato's arm away. "You have no idea what suffering is! That's not who I am anymore!"

Legato frowned, a hint of anger entering his face. "You have no right to say that. Chapel the Evergreen is exactly who you are and who you will always be. You cling to that past tighter than you cling to your fiancee. Everytime you see us, either me or Midvalley, you cling to old grudges and hatred. And so long as you force us to relive that past, you will always be the same man you hate."

Wolfwood snarled angrily and tackled Legato, doing his best to kill the boy with his bare hands. Panicking, Midvalley clamped an arm around the preist's neck, cutting off his air until he released the other boy. Wolfwood slammed his elbow back into Midvalley's gut, turning his fury on him instead. But Legato forced himself between the two boys. Suddenly Wolfwood had one of his guns leveled at the blue haired boy. "You both deserve to die for what you did."

Legato's jaw was clenched, but he didn't seem afraid. Slowly he reached up and grabbed the barrel, pushing it aside ever so slightly. "I have done far worse in my time than torture your children. And I have already payed for that. So has Midvalley. If you feel I deserve to suffer more, than rejoice, I am." Wolfwood focused on the boy's wrist and the dark fabric encasing it. "I am already paying for the past you cannot let go, there is no reason for you to lose your chance at a new future. Kill me if it will make you feel better, but I can garauntee you will join me soon after."

Midvalley gulped, looking quickly from one boy to the other. A gentle noise behind him made him turn around. Millie was standing on the porch of the house, her eyes wide and afraid as she watched the scene playing out. Midvalley turned back to see that Wolfwood didn't look like he was cooling down. "Chap-" his breath caught as the angry gaze was leveled at him. "I mean, Nicholas. Please think about this. You can't do this to Millie, you have to keep calm and stay with her."

Wolfwood scowled and pulled away from Legato. "Don't think you know how I feel or what I think. If you come near me again, you'll regret it." He punctuated his rant with a fist to Midvalley's stomach before he noticed Millie and ran the short distance to her waiting arms.

Hope it was worth the wait! Well, in any case. If anyone out there has deed ideas, I still need one for Legato and one for Zazie, but I'm getting there. Hope to hear from more reveiwers this time 'round, but if not, that's okay. See you all next week ^_^


	11. Another New Start

Hello everyone. I'm still technically hermiting, but my stories won't suffer this time, I promise. See? Aren't I here? Posting *early* so Raditz don't get mad. He's (Or should that be they?) scary. But it means they love my story! And hello again, Meirelle. I thought I'd lost you ^_^ nice to see someone other than Raditz and lyerial – not that I don't love you both!! Anyway, on with the show ^_^ (grr. Still using that smilie too much)

**

Alex's cutthroats were showing signs of their defeat, most huddled around dying fires in the cramped hideout. Alex was putting on a brave face, but everyone could tell she was hurting. He couldn't do much, but Midvalley was trying to ease everyone's mind with his music. Despite their recent hardships, many of the criminals were offering what few double dollars they had to the musician.

Finally Alex stood, waving for Midvalley to stop. "All right everyone, I've got an idea for our next job." Some of the followers ignored her, but several drew near to listen and Midvalley recognized that these would be the ones to go this time. "Yesterday, we got slaughtered, we all know that. We were injured, nearly arrested, and hardly got any take because of it. But if we do another job tomorrow, we can make it up."

Several cheers went through the small gathering and not a few mentioned Midvalley's name. Alex nodded and quieted them again. "Yes, yes. We also all know we owe our Hornfreak for getting us out of that mess yesterday. And you will be there again, right?" Midvalley felt his cheeks grow hot and nodded in agreement. "Great! Now, we'll hit early in the morning. They have a safe in the back that gets emptied in the middle of the week, so it should be chocked full of loot. It's a little place – Red Suns Restaurant?"

Several of the kids nodded, but Midvalley's mouth stretched into a frown. One of the older women noticed him and raised an eyebrow. "Hey, something wrong? You got a friend that works there or something?"

_You both deserve to die for what you did._ Midvalley's face fell and she shook his head. There was no reason for him to hesitate or back out. Wolfwood had made it abundantly clear that they were _not_ friends. He looked up again and forced a smile. "I guess I'll see you guys tomorrow."

**

Midvalley came home deliberately late. He briefly debated eating out again and avoiding Wolfwood all together as he'd done the night before. However, the simple fact was he couldn't afford it. He may be bringing in more money now that he had his sax, but most of that was going towards getting a better home, maybe even a place of his own if he managed to survive the rest of the month.

The door opened with a creak and Midvalley frowned to see that Wolfwood was still at the table. Legato was nowhere to be seen and Midvalley knew he was avoiding the irate priest too. Silently, Midvalley went to the table and sat opposite the brunette and served himself dinner. At first Zazie opened his mouth to try and start a conversation, but Midvalley shook his head, silencing him.

Several minutes passed before Wolfwood set down his fork, finished with his food. He stood to clear his place setting and finally looked at Midvalley. It was just a chance glance, but the hatred was there, pure and strong. The sax player gulped and licked his lips. "Nick?"

The priest's eyes, which had passed over Midvalley in a moment, snapped back to his face. "What?"

Midvalley flinched from the unmasked anger. "I just wanted to ask if you were working tomorrow?"

"Of course," he snapped. "Why?"

Midvalley shook his head and looked away. "Just wondering." Wolfwood snorted and stomped to the bedroom, closing the door. Midvalley sighed miserably and went back to his meal, finally starting a conversation with Zazie.

Even later in the evening, the door creaked open again as Legato returned. He glanced around before walking to the table. "I timed it better tonight then?"

Zazie nodded and at Midvalley's confused look he elaborated. "Legato got home yesterday in the middle of super and they got into a pretty violent fight, exchanged blows and broke dishes and everything."

Legato was dishing up his dinner quickly, proof that he had not eaten yet. "It was too soon, he hadn't had a chance to cool down. Was he any better tonight?"

Midvalley sighed. "Well, he didn't try to kill me. But sometimes the silence is worse, ya know?"

"So what, you guys are just going to let him dictate your lives?"

Legato nodded slowly. "We can't change the past. Avoiding him for a few days will just be simpler. I'll be out of his way after that."

"I got a deed yesterday, but do you really think I can pull of two more? We don't even know how long we have left! No, better to just give him what he wants, right?"

"But if you just talk to him-"

"He won't listen, Zazie. Nicholas has no reason to listen to us."

"Besides, actions speak louder than words. Even if I did talk to him . . . he'd never hear me." Midvalley stood, clearing his place and completely missing the worried look the other two boys shared. He stalked to the couch, grabbed a couple pillows and a blanket, and continued to the corner of the room where he made himself a nice little nest. He drifted to sleep listening to the defeated tone of Legato's conversation. That night he dreamed of frightened, screaming children.

**

It was a smaller group this time than before. Alex had chosen the gang carefully, sacrificing the speed of her younger kids for the strength of a couple adults on Midvalley's suggestion. Now the five of them stood outside the restraint. Alex looked around, nodding as she saw no one else on the street and they went in.

The bell above the door sounded bright and clear and the first noticeable response was a bus boy looking up with a smile. "Welcome to Red Suns!" Alex raised her gun into the boy's line of sight. Immediately his smile faded and he yelped, dropping his rag. "Nick!"

Midvalley flinched at the name. He knew it was unavoidable, but that didn't mean he _wanted to see the priest get caught up in this battle. Wolfwood's head appeared from the back room and he spotted the musician and his friends. "What the hell are you doing here?" he growled as he walked out into the diner. His eyes came to rest on Alex's gun, just as the bus boy's had, and he frowned. "We don't allow weapons in here, put it away now or get out."_

Midvalley shook his head slightly and watched as Wolfwood's expression turned darker. "Don't fight us, Nick, let us get in and out without an incident."

"I'm just glad you gave me an excuse to shoot you."

Midvalley saw Wolfwood turn and head back to the door at a run. "Don't let him get his weapons!" The two adults in the small gang surged forward to try and catch the fleeing man and Midvalley and the other child turned their attention to the rest of the room. Only two tables were filled, a drifter in a tattered cloak at one and the other occupied by a small family.

Crashes and curses drifted from the kitchen in the back. Alex was waiting breath held when Wolfwood appeared through the door again. He was being dragged through against his will and was sporting a bruise on his forehead that was already darkening. Through sheer force of will, he wrenched his arm free of the man on his right and made a grab for the woman's throat, but he was out powered and in another moment he'd been restrained again. Alex literally sighed with relief and moved to the counter where the elderly woman was manning the cash register. "Go close the store, close the blinds, don't allow others to get involved in this."

With a little 'eep' of fear, the woman did as she was told. The other child left Midvalley to guard the customers and disappeared into the back. She poked her head out a minute later. "Old man ain't here, but the safe is."

Alex nodded and turned to the old woman who was cowering behind the bus boy. "All right, just tell us the combination and we'll leave."

The old woman simply shook her head, disappearing further as the young boy moved to shield her more fully. "You can have what's in the register, but the safe's empty."

"Then open it and we'll see for ourselves. You aren't lying to me, are you?"

"You little hellspawn! Hooligan, ruffian! You aren't going to get anything from me. Honestly, what would your parents think if they saw you like this?" Alex's face contorted with anger and she sprang forward to strike the woman.

Midvalley gasped, just catching hold of his boss's shirt. "Alex, ignore her. This is supposed to be simple, no casualties." Though he did wonder what had set the normally calm girl off. Perhaps he'd remember never to mention her parents in the future.

"You're going to have a hell of a time if you don't want casualties, Hornfreak." Midvalley turned to Wolfwood, a frown etched on his lips. "If you don't shoot me, you know damn well you're dead."

Midvalley just shook his head and turned his attention back to the patrons of the restraint and, with a huff, Alex hurried into the back with the other girl. Midvalley crinkled his brow, something had changed. With a start he realized that while his back had been turned, the drifter had changed seats. He was now sitting much closer to the musician than he had been. Funny, he hadn't heard a thing.

"Damn it!" Alex came out scowling. "I can't break the combo. Midvalley, you go blast the thing open."

Midvalley nodded, casting one last glance at the mysterious drifter. He paused again as he passed Wolfwood and frowned. "Nick, I'm sorry."

"Like Hell you are, traitor. Take what you can get and get out of my sight. Move fast enough and you might just outrun me."

Suddenly there was a loud banging on the door and all eyes focused there for a split second. The old woman let out what sounded like a victory cry and pumped her fist in the air. "All right! I bet he went and got the cops, too!"

The little girl turned the color of sour milk. "Shit, the old man must have made a break for it without us knowing."

Midvalley glanced again at Wolfwood as the pounding continued, this time joined by shouts from outside. The priest smirked. "Look at that, don't have to shoot you after all. You'll just rot in prison until you die."

"That ain't going to happen," Alex said in a rush as she stalked over to the men. "Midvalley, go blow the safe. We'll take it and this one and make our escape."

The sax player suddenly felt sick. "No, no hostages. Let's just call it a bust and get out of here, Alex."

"And make it two heists in a row we've botched? Forget it! Go bust that safe open, Hornfreak!" When Midvalley hesitated again Alex turned on him with a glare. "I said go!"

With a cringe, Midvalley backpedaled. _I'm being intimidated by a girl that doesn't even come up to my chest!_ But it didn't matter. He was in this too deep to back out now. "Just don't hurt him if you can avoid it."

"And you just remember who the boss of this outfit it."

"Hornfreak, don't do this." Midvalley looked at Wolfwood again. "You know I'll shoot you without hesitation."

"Yeah, and that's such great motivation for me to trust you."

"Then thanks for the excuse." Faster than Midvalley could follow, Wolfwood ducked down and back, taking advantage of his guard's relaxed states to pull free. Out of nowhere, a gun materialized in his hand and it escalated from there.

Still dealing with the two muscle bound morons, Wolfwood didn't notice as Alex leveled her own gun at him. Panicked, Midvalley dove at the girl. He collided with her and then leapt back, trying to wrench the gun from her hands. But Alex had warned him once that she was the best around and she hadn't been lying. Without even missing a beat, she aimed and fired, almost as if the musician wasn't holding on to the barrel.

Midvalley stumbled back clutching the wound in his side and fell to the floor. He couldn't focus on the world around him. He heard more shots and saw a flash of yellow, but mostly it was all one big blur. The next thing that stuck out in his mind was when the pain in his side doubled. He opened his eyes with a startled cry, not realizing he'd closed them. Above him, pressing heavily to stop his bleeding, was a frowning Vash the Stampede. In a tattered brown traveling cloak. "Shit."

"Try not to move, let me figure out how badly hurt you are."

"You were sitting there this whole time." Midvalley's eyes closed again and he wondered how he hadn't seen it. "We were fated to fail."

Another voice Midvalley recognized as Wolfwood broke into his hearing. "For crying out loud. First time you come in here for a sit down meal and we nearly get robbed. This is all your fault, Needle Noggin. Eat at our competitors next time!"

Vash's frown twitched and turned into a tiny smile. "Naw, it wasn't 'cause I was here. And the robbery wasn't fated to fail, either. Something good just needed to happen." The blonde looked up and around at the rest of the room. "Is everyone else okay?"

A young girl wearing a deputy's badge appeared above Midvalley. "No fatal injuries, nothing more serious than him, in fact. We've got three of them in custody, but the leader got away. She's a fast little kid." The woman glanced down at Midvalley. "Speaking of your friend here, what are we going to do with him?"

Midvalley closed his eyes again, waiting for the handcuffs to be slapped on his wrists. Instead he heard Wolfwood sigh. "What do you mean? He saved the day, right?"

The deputy stuttered. "Er, yes, well, I suppose that's true. But he was one of the bad guys."

Midvalley looked again to see Vash waving the young woman off. "Nonsense, he was being blackmailed into helping them! After all, they had one of his best friends held hostage, what would you do?"

Seemingly convinced, the woman smiled and nodded, leaving the three men alone. Midvalley looked at Wolfwood, confused, and the priest snorted. "If it were up to me, they would have drug you out of here with the rest of them. It was broom head that wanted to save you."

"Wolfwood, he saved you!" Vash whined.

"It doesn't count if he's the one who put me in danger to begin with! Besides, he was only trying to save his own hide. Now if you'll excuse me, I have work to do. This little stunt has trashed a very nice restraint."

Vash pouted as the other man walked off. When he finally looked back at Midvalley, he was frowning again. "What did happen?"

"Alex would have shot him. But you saw that yourself."

"Why didn't you let her?" Vash pressed the bandages more firmly into his side.

Midvalley ground his teeth together, forcing himself not to flinch. "It would have been a waste. I didn't want to see anyone get hurt." A thought occurred to him and Midvalley raised his right arm enough to see his bracelet shining a dull red. He smiled. "It was the right thing to do."

***

Well, there you have it.Midvalley actually may survive this after all! Oi, Jubei-chan, have you caught up yet? Review me! Pwease? And ne, Aya-chan, are you reading this or did you get all distracteded. I know you loved the idea, but what do you think about the nearly finished product? To all of you I love you my readers! (though I'd love you more if you reveiwed too, but that's beside the point.) And I'm still looking for a deed for Legato and one for Zazie.


	12. No longer short, still important

I know, I'm late. I'm sorry and I won't bore you with my excuses. However, I got over my writer's block and now have the rest of the story figured out, if not written yet. As an appology (and because this is still a short chapter) and because I'm rather eager to finish this, chapter 13 will be up on Saturday! Look for me then, oh yeah, and I own nothing. Except my new pet and her loverly DVDs and computer stuff.

**

Zazie had decided he liked this new life. Here he was, girlfriend, friends. Everything was finally going right. He and Isabel had spent the last couple days together. He didn't have to worry about taking care of Legato or cleaning the house. The worst he had to worry about was Wolfwood killing one of the others, and the preist had at least enough control not to do that. He smiled and leaned over, kissing Isabel on the nose.

The girl blinked at him. "What was that for?"

"A thank you. You have made everything go right for me." They both laughed and continued down the street.

Isabel was the first to stop, her eyes catching sight of a worn and tattered poster attatched to one of the walls. "No one's caught that guy yet?"

Zazie looked at the paper and his breath caught to see that it was a wanted poster for Vash. "Why are these things still up?" He snatched at the poster, tearing it away from the tacks. "When are humans gonna get the idea that he's a good guy?"

"My dad told me he destroyed an entire town. He said that guy's a terrorist that's killed a lot of people."

"Well he's not!" Zazie screamed and then frowned as he saw Isabel flinch. "Or, well, it wasn't his fault."

"Geez, I'm sorry, okay?"

Zazie sighed, crumpling the paper and throwing it away. "I'm sorry I yelled. But I know him and he gets a lot of shit he doesn't deserve."

Zazie turned to leave, Isabel's hand cradeled in his own. He was shocked to see a large man standing in his way, unfolding the tattered poster. "You know this goofball?"

Zazie snorted, "That goofball is a good man."

"Never said he was't. He hasn't been shot recently, has he?" Zazie gulped, dropping Isabel's hand and stepping back slightly. "Kid, that ain't very beautiful. You will take me to him, won't you?"

Zazie turned and shoved Isabel. She tripped over the porch, tumbling through the door of the small shop. Zazie ran, he could hear the angry man behind him, "Grab him!" Zazie cursed, his feet losing traction in the loose sand. He could feel hands shadowing his movements, but didn't dare lose the time it would take to look over his shoulder.

Finally he stopped, ducking and sprinting in the directly opposite direction. It was an excelent surprise tactic. It even almost worked. One of the two following thugs managed to grab hold of Zazie's shoulder. The next thing he knew, his face was shoved into the sand with a heavy weight on his back. The mysterious man knelt in front of him. "You ain't shining, kid."

"If you hurt Isabel-"

"I'm not touching the girl, not the way I handle things." He smiled, revealing two sharp canines. "'Sides, I got you. And you're the only one I need."

**

Midvalley yawned as he packed away his sax with care. He'd just finished a rather long set and was eager to go home and collapse. He felt a gentle hand on his shoulder and turned to see the middle-aged bartender smiling at him. He smiled back, "Hello Catherine."

"Nice job tonight. I like your music kid, I've told you before. To bad you have to cut out early, you feeling all right?" She handed a small envelope to the musician as she spoke and Midvalley took it gratefully.

He pocketed the money, still smiling at the woman. He didn't answer her question and she shrugged, going back to her job. Midvalley knew he was lucky to be able to play tonight at all, after only taking one night off to heal. He could hardley stand upright and he knew it affected his playing, Catherine didn't know who complimenting she was to say he still sounded good. He picked up his case, wincing as the weight stretched the gunshot wound. He wrapped one hand around his chest, trying to balance his precious Sylvia in the other.

The lights were still on at the house and Midvalley was surprised. It was nearly eleven, the others were usually asleep when he got back from a late gig. He pushed open the door and Legato was instantly there. The blue-haired boy took the saxaphone and wrapped his other arm around Midvalley's shoulders to steady the musician. The sax player smiled, "Jeez. I knew you were worried about me pushing myself to hard, but you didn't have to wait up for me." His eyes drifted across Wolfwood at the table and he sobered instantly, taking in the priest's upset look. "What's wrong?"

"Zazie hasn't come back. He's always been home to make dinner, except the few days he helped out at the plant."

Legato detached himself from Midvalley and sunk into a chair. "I already checked with Vash and Isabel's family. The girl's parents told me she stopped by earlier in a panic, but now she's missing, too."

Midvalley frowned and bit his lip. If the little blonde was in trouble, and he saved him, it could mean his third deed.He shook his head quikly, ashamed for thinking of his friend in such terms. He was still berating himself when Wolfwood spoke again. "If he was just out with his girlfriend, it would be different, but we know for a fact they aren't together and it sounds like she was worried about him, too. We need to do something."

Midvalley had just taken a sip of water and he coughed, choking on the liquid. "What? You're worried? Bad enough to risk staying out all night, maybe missing work? When Legato went missing, you hardly blinked. Now Zazie is gone hardly _half_ as long and your ready to call in the sheriff!"

"Midvalley, if Nicholas is worried, it's a good thing." The boy paused, looking thoughtful. "Well, sort of."

"I know that, but for all he knew you could have been dead. What makes this any different?"

Wolfwood was glaring at the smaller boy. "I happen to put a little more stock in Zazie's life."

Midvalley jumped to his feet and cringed as the movement jerked his injury. "You have no right! Don't you remember what Angel said?! The only reason we're here is because of a second chance given to _him_!" Midvalley jabbed his finger at Legato who was frowning and starting to look uncomfortable.

Wolfwood was almost screaming now, "The things he did-"

"-Have no bearing on his life now! If anything, his life is _more_ valuble than any of ours." Midvalley was suddenly on the ground. His first response was to curl around his now burning side. A split second later he gripped his jaw, realizing he'd been punched and that was why he was no longer on his feet.

Midvalley looked up, expecting to see Wolfwood as his attacker. He was speechless to see the priest still at the table, his own eyes wide with shock. Legato stood over the musician instead, face pale and fists clenched. "Shut up." His voice was barely audible, but the anger was palpable. I've said before to let Nicholas do as he wishes, even if that means hating the two of us."

Midvalley was still in shock. "I . . . I was just trying to help."

"You can't! You don't even understand. I sacrificed my deeds to help Knives, everyday I give my earned money to the rest of you, I would gladly die to save any of you. My life is meaningless."

"I didn't mean it that way. I know all life is valuble. I just meant-"

"No, you still don't get it." Legato raised his voice, but was still speaking softly. Midvalley thought it would have been less disturbing if he yelled. "You will never understand so long as you value your life like you do! _Living_ is not what matters." The blue haired boy put a hand to his eyes before raking it through his hair. Midvalley caught sight of his braclet, now a pristing white. Legato turned without another word, leaving before the musician could say anything.

Wolfwood stood slowly and moved to Midvalley's side. The musician glared, but didn't say anything as the priest unbuttoned his shirt. "You tore your stitches, you're bleeding pretty badly."

Midvalley sucked in a hissing breath and looked at the dark haired man in wonder. "This is the first tme you've been civil to me since you went to December."

He nodded. "Hearing you get chewed out like that helped my conscience catch up, I think. What you did in the past was unforgivable," a misplaced touch made Midvalley cringe and he was certan it was intentional, "but that doesn't mean I can let you lay here bleeding."

"I don't-" Midvalley paused, clenching his jaw as a towel was shoved into his side. "I don't understand why he was so upset."

Wolfwood sighed and settled into a more comfortable position. "That, I think, was his point."

**

Hello all. There you have it. Not much to say, really. Remember to check back this Saturday for new stuff. Reveiws are appreciated ^_^


	13. I'm back! And no longer injured!

Vash walks onto the stage and faces the audience. "Hello, everyone. I'm here to give the introduction today for Kalanoa-san. As you all know, she was out for a while with injuries."

In the background, yelling and crashing can be heard. "Argh! Damn, stupid, evil school! Walk around handing out projects and then they make them all due on the same freaking day!"

Vash sweatdrops and looks back towards the backstage. "Anou…Kalanoa-san, you did know about the two papers a month in advance, and you knew about project even longer."

Various objects fly from backstage with the obvious intent of hitting Vash in the head. "Shut up, broom head! I didn't bring you here to criticize me and my procrastinating ways."

"But you have to admit that you did know." More cursing and crashing can be heard. "Oi! Lily, you're going to hurt your shoulder again! Please don't get injured, I just know you'll take it out on me and the others."

"Darn right you should keep me happy! I'm the author! And next chapter is the final battle."

Vash sighs and turns back to the audience. "In any case, everyone, here is the next chapter. No one is harmed seriously, I don't think. And Kalanoa doesn't own Trigun or any of that stuff. Enjoy!" 

A rather large math book flies through the air, nailing Vash and sending him to the ground and a final scream echoes, "I hate school!!!!!"

***

Legato was lying on his back against a sand dune, trying to get his thoughts in order. He couldn't stand the thought that he'd just yelled at the only people he could call friends. It was bad enough that he would be dying again any day now, he didn't want to spend his remaining time alone. He hated that feeling. He could remember . . . something. Before Angel had brought him back. It had been cold, far colder than anything he'd ever felt before, and he had felt afraid and alone. It was bad enough knowing he'd feel that way again soon, he couldn't stand the thought that his last days of life would be spent like that, too.

"I wonder if the others remember anything," he muttered to the night. It was cold and getting colder by the minute. For the first time since he'd awakened in this young body, Legato wished he still had his white coat. It was surprisingly cool during the day, but at night like this it had kept his nice and warm once he unrolled the sleeves. Legato had learned to hate the cold in the short time he'd been dead, but even that was not enough to move him back to the house. The stars were too beautiful and the night was dark as ink and he could clearly see each tiny pinprick in the sky.

A different light attracted Legato's attention and he looked out to the desert. There was a small gathering of lights, as if there was a sandsteamer or something. Odd, there weren't any schedualed transports coming in today that Legato knew about. He stood and took a few steps in that direction. There was deffinately a convoy out there, not too far off, actually. Shivering in the cold air, Legato nodded and headed towards the lights at a jog. 

There was a smaller light, slightly apart from the others and Legato watched closely as it began moving away. _Must be a patrol to make sure nothing's coming to attack them._ In this blackness it was hard to see much of anything beyond the glow of their own lights. Legato quickened his pace and made sure to avoid the scout as he approached the gathering. As he got closer, he could see they were a group of bandits. Legato wrinkled his brow and sneakedcloser into the light.

". . . Yeah, right there in the middle of town!"

"Man, the boss is lucky he didn't get shot, abducting a kid out in the open like that. Not that he did wrong, of course, I'd never badmouth the boss."

"Yeah, it'd just get you a bullet for your trouble."

Legato looked around at the men, wondering what they were talking about. A kid . . . surely he didn't just stumble into the guys that took Zazie. After all the hardships he'd faced this last month, to find Zazie just like that would be way too easy. Carefully, he moved along the edge of the light, at this distance he could observe them pretty well, but he'd still be hard to spot.

"Hey, you!" Legato jumped, thinking he'd been discovered. The large man looked to be the ringleader of the gang, but he hadn't seen Legato. Instead, he walked over to a small group gathered around the fire. "Any luck finding that idiot?"

One of the men shrugged. "Sorry, boss. No one knows where he is, or at least they aren't telling us if they do."

"That's actually no surprise," another man muttered. "Trouble follows on his heels, the townsfolk must realize that anyone looking for Vash is a bounty hunter or something. They don't want their precious town to get caught up in the battle."

"And the kid still ain't talkin'?" All the men shook their heads and the leader sighed. "Well, don't give 'im anything to eat until he says somethin'. I'm going to find Vash the Stampede and get my rematch."

The large man walked away and Legato watched as the few men conversed with each other. They must be guards, which meant the tent set up behind them was where their prisoner was. Legato walked up behind them, careful not to make a noise, and slipped through the back. "It _is_ you!"

Zazie looked up, surprised by the sudden voice. "Legato? What're you doing here?"

"Well, I thought I was just checking out a gang of bandits, but looks like I'm rescuing you." Legato moved quickly to the smaller boy, untying his hands and feet. "Come on, we should get out of here fast."

Zazie stood, following Legato to the tent's opening. He peeked out and nodded, "No one's paying attention. Let's go." The two went to the back of the tent, lifting the heavy material and slipping out silently. They'd just started away when Zazie heard a scream and stopped. Without explanation, he spun around and headed back towards the bandits.

Legato stummbled and turned around as well, nearling calling out to the other boy before he caught himself. Not that it would have changed anything since Zazie was screaming at the top of his lungs anyway. He had already come to the focus of the commosion. Three gangmembers had a young girl surrounded and Legato groaned when he saw who it was. "Isabel!" Zazie screamed.

The girl caught sight of him and was obviously releived. "Zazie, help!"

Without hesitation, the blonde threw himself at the nearest thug. Suddenly a shrill whistle peirced the air and everyone froze. The leader slowly walked towards them, eyeing his inexplicably free captive as well as the other teenagers. One of the men grabbed Isabel and the leader eyed Zazie. "I applaude your efforts, you got away. Now you better do the right thing if you don't want the little lady to get hurt."

Zazie blanched, yelling angrily at the large man. "You said that you wouldn't hurt her!"

The man nodded thoughtfully, the brim of his hat dipping to shadow his eyes. "I suppose that is true. Wouldn't be too good to go back on my word like that." He looked up. "But I remember my words differently. I didn't need to hurt her so long as I had you."

Zazie was shaking with barely contained anger. "Let her go." Legato suddenly found himself wishing he had a weapon of some sort. "Let go of Isabel right now, she doesn't have anything to with this!"

Legato's eyes suddenly widened in recognition. "Neon!" 

The leader turned to look at the strange boy. "Oh, you've heard of me?" Suddenly he was moving. Legato had no time to react before the larger man slammed into him full force. Legato stumbled back, but never hit the ground as the man grabbed him, twisting him around and pinning one of his arms behind his back. "So, now what, kid? Next move is yours." B.D.N. asked, turning to Zazie.

Zazie couldn't seem to move, staring at the men around him. Finally he dropped his arms and hung his head. "Let them go."

Neon laughed. "Just so you'll stick around? I don't think so. I want to _find_ Vash the Stampede, not just hold his friends hostage. 'Sides, I got a better idea." Neon was moving again, too fast for Zazie to keep track of him. The blow came from nowhere and Zazie slumped to the sand. He fought to stay awake and saw as Legato fell as well, unconscious before he hit the ground. Zazie could just hear Neon speaking to Isabel. "You can drive this thing, right? You tell Vash to meet me soon, or I'll come after them again. Tell him that." Zazie drifted into blackness.

***

"I'm so sorry you got caught up in all this. Really, are you sure you're alright?"

Legato blinked slowly, trying to place the voice that was speaking above him. Another voice replied to the first. "Honestly, I am all right. Just, you know, I'm worried for them. He said he'd come after them again."

Finally Legato could make out the figures of Vash and Isabel above him. He groaned and sat up, instantly becoming the focus of both people. He nodded and tried to wave them away. "I'm all right. Really, I am. Just a little headache."

"Oi, Legato-chan, check your wrist." Legato looked at Zazie, surprised, then down at the red fabric encasing his wrist and gasped. "It's because you tried to help me, I'm sure of it. And I wanted to help you and Isabel, mine's white now." Though the news was great, Zazie looked miserable as he said it.

Vash cleared his throat and the two boys looked at him. "I want you two to be careful. Neon's a pretty honest guy, but he's ruthless, too. Watch yourselves until I can deal with this."

"Wait, you're not actually going to fight that freak, are you?" Vash didn't answer and Zazie jumped to his feet. "No way in hell! You can't let that guy get what he wants."

"It's not like that. I'm trying to do what's right for you guys, ya know? I don't want to see you get hurt again." Legato watched as Vash forced his face into a smile. "Besides, it won't be a big deal. I beat him once, I can do it again."

Legato shook his head and stood. "We need to let the others know." He left without a goodbye and Zazie hurried after him. "Hey, Zazie."

"Yeah?"

"I'm going with him. To that fight. I want to make sure he'll be okay, but I think you should avoid it."

"Why? Shouldn't I be there to help, too?"

Legato shook his head. "Do you remember when Angel came to us that night?" Zazie nodded. "Well, think about it. She said we had one month, right? And that was almost thirty days ago. This fight is where we're going to die."

Zazie stopped in his tracks, dumbfounded. Legato kept walking as if nothing were wrong and the little blonde had to jog to catch up with him. "You can't be serious! If that's really the case, then I'm safe! _You're_ the one that shouldn't go there!"

Legato shook his head and continued walking.

Midvalley and Wolfwood were both at home when the others arrived, as if they knew something had happened during the night. When they heard the news about Neon and Vash's fight, they both hung their heads. Midvalley shivered and looked at Legato. "That's it, then? Our time is up?"

"Probably."

Midvalley looked at his wrist and immediately started cursing. "Damnit! No! I was so close!" He slammed his fist into the wall, then winced, curling in on himself and holding his side. "Ow, damnit. I can't even do anything right now."

Wolfwood sighed and sat on the couch. "I thought I was doing so well in the beginning. And that's it. Shit, what am I going to tell Millie?"

Legato shook his head. "I'm sorry. But there is still time, you can be with her forever. Just go do some good, it's not as hard for you."

Wolfwood snorted. "Yeah, sure. This coming from the guy who's done three more deeds than me."

"I'm not that great. You know perfectly well I won't get another, but you may."

"Damn you." Legato looked surprised at the sudden curse. "Even now, you're so damn noble. I want so badly to go on hating you, too." By now all three boys were staring at the preist like he was nuts. "You're right, though. I can get another deed, just by saying – and meaning – three very simple words."

Legato smiled, "Then say them. You deserve to stay here and be happy."

Wolfwood looked at the ground and smiled. "I really did want to hate you for the rest of my life." With that, he turned and slipped into the bedroom, shutting the door tightly.

Midvalley looked confused. "Did he just forgive you?"

"That's what it sounded like to me."

Legato shook his head. "I don't know, but it would make sense. 'I forgive you', I wish he would say it, so he can stay here and be happy."

***

"Grr, the ending sucked this chapter."

Vash is still on stage, looking at the back. "Kalanoa-san, it was nice. You did a good chapter."

"But it took me forever! And I still have to write a paper!!" more crashing can be heard floating to the stage.

"Wasn't that due last week?"

Suddenly Kalanoa storms onto stage, waving a very large blue glowing sword. "Are you insulting my procrastinating ways again?"

Vash seawtdrops and jumps away from her. "You-that-have you been playing Onimusha again? Kalanoa, you should have been writing your paper! That sword-"

"Is going to slice you in half if you insult me again, needle-noggin!"

Kalanoa gulps again and backpeddles quickly. "Now now, Kalanoa. If you kill me now, you can't write the last chapter and then your readers will be mad! You want good reveiws, don't you?"

"I can write it without you," Kalanoa gets a wicked grin on her face. "I'll just have Wolfwood beat the baddie."

Vash eeps and starts to run. "No! Kalanoa, I didn't say a word! I was complimenting you! I was!!"

Kalanoa starts to charge after him and the two exit the stage. After a few minutes, Vash pokes his head out of a loose floorboard. "I think I lost her. Hey, you guys, please give a review or two? Please? To keep her from kiling me, right? And I'll try and get her to post by next weekend, all right? Right."


	14. The Final Battle

Author's notes. Yes, hello all. Back to every other week posting, I guess. Or am I even later than that? Oh well, this is the last chapter, so it really doesn't matter. Quick correction of last chapter: I accidentally said Zazie's bracelet turned white. Gomen, that's supposed to be blue, he's done with his deeds. I am going to fix that mispost, I just haven't been able to yet. Also, please read the review (the last 'chapter' on this story) it's going up the day after this goes up, so, enjoy ^_^

***

Midvalley was sitting on the steps in front of their temporary home. He was watching the sunset. In just under four hours, the first sun would be hitting the horizon. All right, so it was a little early to say he was watching the sunset, but it was better than saying he'd been watching the sunrise since before the suns were up. A hint of movement behind him signaled Wolfwood leaving the house, but Midvalley didn't so much as blink in the other man's direction. The young priest was frowning as he sat beside his friend. "How are you doing?"

"You're safe." Neither man spoke for a minute or two. Finally Midvalley took a deep breath and looked at the man beside him. "I know you were trying to avoid actually saying it, but you did forgive him, didn't you? And me, too. You're safe."

Wolfwood sat motionless, staring at the road in front of them. Finally he moved, reaching into his pocket for a cigarette. He carefully tugged his coat sleeve over his wrist, hiding the blue line that was proof enough of Midvalley's words. "So, how are you doing?"

"A second chance. It was too much to hope for, for a guy like me. But I want to go out with him to meet that freak and give him a piece of my mind."

"Hornfreak, you can't. You're hurt!"

"You think I don't know that? But what good'll it do me to just sit around here? If I'm gonna die again, I want to go out in a blaze of glory, just like last time." He smiled for a moment, before his face slipped back into its solemn frown. "This time I want to be on his side, instead of against him."

"He won't want you there. He doesn't want any of us there."

"As if that's going to stop us." The two sat together a moment more before Wolfwood stood and walked away. Midvalley turned to watch the man walk away and then looked back at the sky in front of him. Grumpily he massaged his side, which had decided to start throbbing with all this talk of death.

**

"He doesn't want you to go!"

"I know that."

"Vash told you to stay here out of danger!"

"Yes, he did. So did Legato."

"And you're going anyway?"

Zazie stopped loading his guns and looked at Isabel. "I am going. Whether or not I'll be needed, I'm going to be there."

"But from what you've told me, you could just stay out of harm's way and wake up tomorrow unharmed! You could stay safe and live here with me."

Zazie shook his head gently. "I'm tempted, I am. But it wouldn't be right. _Living_ is not enough."

Isabel was crying softly, near silent tears trailing down her face. "But what if you _are_ hurt? What if you're killed?"

Zazie closed his gun, tucking it securely away with his extra ammo. "Don't think about things like that, there are enough people already thinking about death today. I can't promise I'll be alright, but I don't want you to worry, all right? I earned my second shot, I doubt I'll lose it again so quickly."

Unconvinced, Isabel latched tightly onto Zazie's shirt. Her tears rolled down her cheeks more freely now and Zazie was hard pressed to keep his own tears in check. The two didn't move for more than an hour.

**

Legato leaned over, resting his elbows on his legs. He curled one hand up and wedged it under his chin while the other hand made the trip from the small brown bag beside him to his mouth. It had been a long day. And it was getting longer every minute. He glanced at the suns. Not long now before the first would hit the horizon. Legato stood slowly, setting the remains of his meal down for the time being. He walked the short distance to the café Meryl was working at and stepped onto the porch.

No sooner had he stopped moving then Meryl stuck her head out the door. "Is it time?"

"I'm not sure, he didn't say when he was going, just that it would be today. Are you going with him?"

Meryl shook her head. She was trying not to cry, and that was apparently taking most of her concentration. "Yes. He's said many times that he wants to go alone. But when I asked if I could go, he didn't say no. He's scared, no matter what he says."

"Then we should probably go soon. Make sure he doesn't try to leave without telling us."

Meryl sighed and nodded. "It wouldn't be the first time. I'll go tell my boss."

Legato turned and went back to his food. A little street rat was pawing at the wrapper of the hotdog. "Hey! What do you think you're doing, that's mine!" Legato snarled. The little boy jumped, dropping the half-eaten dog Legato had set down earlier. He grumbled to himself, picking up the wasted food. The boy was still watching him, his eyes big. "What do you want?"

"I'm sorry I ruined your food, sir. But, uh, you're not going to eat it now, are you?"

Legato paused, watching the two big eyes that were watching him. Finally he sighed, handing over the dust covered snack. "You can have this." He reached behind him, pulling a second hotdog from the untouched bag. "And this one, too. You need them more than I do."

The little boy shook his head quickly. "No, thank you, but that's yours. I shouldn't take all your food, it's my fault this one got dirty!"

Legato frowned and set the hotdog in the boy's hand. "Take it." He stood, walking quickly away before any more protests could reach his ears.

***

It was beginning to cool off, the first sun almost out of sight. Vash was sitting on the porch, staring as Wolfwood slowly approached the house. The priest smiled when he stepped up and through the door, but didn't say a word. He stopped for a moment to give Millie a kiss before trotting up the stairs. He returned not a minute later, his cross punisher slung over one shoulder. He stepped onto the porch again, but Vash was no longer there. "Millie! Where'd needle-noggin go?"

Millie smiled giullessly at her fiancée. "Mr. Vash left just a minute ago." 

Wolfwood's eyes widened. "Why didn't you stop him?!"

"You should do his mind a favor and stay here, so he doesn't have to worry." Wolfwood scowled at Knives as the blonde said exactly what he didn't want to hear. "Think of it this way, if you're there, it's just one more person he has to protect. You should stay out of the way."

"You'd leave your own brother out there to fight with no protection?"

"I'm perfectly aware of how capable he is of protecting himself."

Wolfwood sighed and leaned against the doorjamb. "You want me to just sit here. And now I have no choice, I'll never catch him, will I?"

Knives smiled. He was actually chuckling slightly and it was genuine. "You know, if I were him, I'd want to keep the town safe. I'd go to the outskirts, probably south, since that's where the bandits have been staying anyway."

It took a moment before Wolfwood looked up in shock. Was Knives actually helping him? Millie stood up, that same smile on her face. She took a moment to secure her stun gun, then walked to her love's side. "Ready to go?"

Wolfwood nodded a thank you in Knives' direction. "Yeah. South."

***

Vash looked across the darkening sands at his opponent. Brilliant Dynamite Neon smiled at him from his position in front of the rest of the Bad Lands Gang. With a sigh, Vash stepped forward more and forced his face to smile. "So you finally tracked me down for that rematch!"

"And you ain't injured or nothin' this time, right?"

Vash laughed, forcing himself to sound cheerful. "Oh, no. I've been a pretty good boy lately. The worst I've done is stop a robbery and fight with my brother some. It's just gonna be you against me, right?"

Neon glanced behind him at the rest of the gang. "My boys have orders to stay out of this fight so long as your boys do the same."

Vash's smile vanished instantly, his eyes widening in shock. Slowly he turned around to look at the people walking up behind him. "Heh. I suppose I should have known I couldn't keep you guys out of this. But you really shouldn't be here!"

Wolfwood snorted, setting his cross into the sand. "As if we'd let you do this alone."

Vash still hadn't recovered his smile, looking at the others almost desperately. Finally his eyes rested on Midvalley and Legato behind him. "At least you two. Go home, stay away from here."

Legato shook his head, "This is my time, leaving wouldn't change that. I'd rather do a bit more good before I have to leave."

Midvalley was bent partially over, doing his best to conceal the pain his injury was still causing him. He patted his saxophone case and laughed lightly. "I already said I'm gonna go out with a bang. I was lucky to get this thing rigged up like my old one, too. I'm not leaving. And don't give me that look, I made sure there are no jams this time."

"Oi! Are we doing this or not?"

Vash sighed and nodded, finally turning back to Neon with a resigned look on his face. "And it's just you and me? You'll be sure not to involve my friends?" Neon nodded, a smile on his lips. "Well, all right then. I guess I can't get out of it." He was smiling again and quickly moved off to one side, away from the bystanders. Neon was openly smirking as he took a small ball from his pocket and threw it into the air. Both sides watched as the orb traveled into the darkening sky and then descended towards the sands again. Suddenly an explosion ripped through the night. Distracted, Vash spun towards the sound, missing as the signal hit the ground. Neon's first bullet just clipped his shoulder and Vash was forced to focus again on his own battle.

Wolfwood was cursing fluently. That gunshot had missed him by mere inches, fortunately bouncing off his cross punisher instead. But it had sent most everyone into a panic, both sides scrounging for what little cover was in the desert, mostly provided by their own vehicles. Meryl and Zazie were both exchanging fire with the opposing side while Millie was taking out several fighters at once with her stun gun. Another shot clicked against the cross-punisher and Wolfwood's cursing picked up a notch as he fired angrily across the sand.

Midvalley was rivaling the priest's vocabulary as he cursed loudly at the weight on top of him. "Get off of me, damnit!"

"You shouldn't be here in the first place." At the first sound of battle, Legato had tackled the musician, bringing them both to the ground. "Stay down, all right?" Midvalley opened his mouth, but Legato moved before the other could complain more. He looked down at his shirt, frowning at the sheer amount of blood on it. Midvalley shouldn't be here. He couldn't even stand and now he was expected to fight? Which actually brought Legato back to his own problem. He'd sold his gun, and vowed that he would never use another one. But in a fight like this, that was a serious problem.

As battles tend to, this one was getting out of control and chaotic at breakneck speed. The only thing keeping them from shooting their own people was the fact that each side was still fairly uniform and on opposite sides of the cramped battlefield. And all of this was working against Vash as he dodged away from another bullet. His concentration was divided, which was something he couldn't afford. "I thought you were going to leave them out of this!"

"I gave orders not to cause trouble and to leave us alone. Ain't my fault if someone went against me. Now pay attention, you idiot, or this'll be no fun at all!"

Zazie looked around frantically, trying to get a clear picture of where he was. He fired again, cutting down the bruiser that had been bearing down on him. A quick glance over his shoulder showed that he was at least still facing the right direction. Millie was still in sight, but he'd sprinted so far forward that he could catch sight of the others. At least, not without looking away from his enemies for too long. He focused again and raised his gun to the next opponent. _Click click_. Zazie's breath caught as he registered the sound of his empty clip. The other man realized it as well and smiled broadly, lowering his own gun to point directly at Zazie's head.

Suddenly the man jerked, his shot going wild as he was plowed into from the side. Zazie didn't pause to think as he quickly loaded his gun again and started firing. Behind him, Legato spun again to take down another man. Maybe there was something to this unarmed combat thing!

Without warning, a new scream rang into the night. Everyone froze, eyes going immediately to the dual. Vash knelt in the sand, sweating and breathing hard. He was holding his right shoulder and was bleeding from a couple other bad injuries as well. Neon, on the other hand, had dropped his gun. He was holding his side tightly and laying in a slowly growing pool of his own blood. There was a pause before Vash jumped to his feet, dashing the distance between the two and immediately started to care for the other's wound. He had won, somehow.

Amazed, Midvalley lowered his sax from his lips. He couldn't believe it was over, but it was. And he was still breathing, relatively uninjured. After holding his own against the Bad Lands Gang, he was still standing, even though this was supposed to be his day to die. Slowly he raked his eyes across the battleground. Not only was he still alive, but it seemed everyone was. Several were sporting some damage of their own, but everyone was still standing. Or, mostly. Wolfwood couldn't seem to stand upright and Legato was pulling himself off the ground. But they were all alive.

It was by pure chance that he saw the gunman. Zazie and Meryl were discouraging most everyone from doing anymore fighting, but they simply couldn't get to everyone. For just a moment, Midvalley wasn't sure what to do. The man was aiming at Millie and suddenly any doubt melted from his mind. He darted forward, quickly closing the few meters between him and the taller woman. There was no thought of life or death, he was only thinking one thing. Millie couldn't die. Wolfwood couldn't lose her, not after everything else. And the child deserved a chance at life as well.

Midvalley's eyes widened as he realized what he was doing. He shouldn't be risking himself like this, but he knew he would do it again in a heartbeat, if he ever got the chance. His world narrowed to a single focus as the bullet hit his flesh. Everything seemed to freeze as felt a horrible pain piercing through his stomach. The seconds seemed to last an eternity as gravity took its toll, dragging him to the ground. He heard Millie scream and someone else let off another shot, but it all seemed so unimportant. _I'm dying_, he realized with a shock. _I've felt all this before, this is just like it was. I really am dying this time._

Millie hit the ground hard and turned to look at her rescuer. She screamed as his legs gave out and he sank to the ground. A final gunshot shattered the night as she twisted around to catch the boy and cradle his head in her lap. Out of nowhere it seemed, Wolfwood and Meryl appeared beside her. Frantic, she looked up at them, her face telling everything she couldn't say. In the distance she could see Vash standing there, his mouth agape in pure horror, Neon completely forgotten beside him.

Zazie felt his guns slip from numb fingers. It was really happening, one of his friends was gone. He really was safe, but Midvalley hadn't made it. "No. This can't be happening. It should have been me." Zazie blinked, snapped out of his daydream by the soft mumbling. Legato stood not two meters away, his face pale and shocked. 

Zazie took a few steps toward the blue haired boy. "Legato? Are you all right?"

Suddenly the boy bolted forward, sprinting to his fallen friend's side. "This can't be happening!" He fell to his knees and scrambled to grab Midvalley's wrist. He pulled it up, gaping at the blue band wrapped around it. "He made it! He did something good! It should have been me!"

Millie placed a hand on Legato's arm. "His bracelet is the same as yours. Why did this happen if they're both the same?"

Legato looked at his own wrist in shock. Vaguely he remembered the orphan in town, rescuing Zazie, and everything else he'd done to earn his second shot at life. "But, Midvalley . . . It should have been me . . ."

***

It was warm. Midvalley refused to open his eyes, he didn't want to see where he was. He just wanted to lay here and relish in the warmth of the place. It wasn't hot, like on Gunsmoke, and it wasn't cold like it had been before. Was this Eden? Heaven?

There was a soft laughing coming from beside him. "Are you just going to sleep?"

"Yes."

The woman's voice laughed harder. "But you'll miss out on this wonderful scene!" Reluctantly Midvalley opened his eyes and gasped. He was standing beside himself, lying bleeding on the ground. "Doesn't it make you happy? To see all your friends so sad over losing you? They really did care."

Midvalley turned angrily towards Angel. "No it does not make me happy! Why would I be happy to see them miserable? I wanted to stay with them! I-I wanted another chance."

Angel smiled and put a hand on the boy's shoulder. "You really do want this, don't you? You were never planned to have this chance, you know that. And even as it was, this new life was forced on you. But you really do want it, don't you?"

Midvalley pulled slightly from her grip and turned back to his friends. "But I don't get to live with them. I'm not the 'do good' type and I didn't fulfill the requirement." He reached out, as if to touch them, but stopped midmotion.

Angel placed a hand on his arm again, forcing him to face her. "You're wrong. You did good, Midvalley. You really did. Will you do me a favor? I want you to tell him . . . tell him, I couldn't be more proud of him." Midvalley crinkled his brow, confused. Angel placed a hand on his stomach and smiled again.

In an instant, Midvalley's world became one of total pain. He could hardly focus through it and for a moment his vision completely whited out. Was this final death? It was so different from before. Before, the pain had sort of . . . faded. He could hear someone mumbling to themselves. It sounded like they were mad at life, even spitting curses at some angel. Slowly Midvalley opened his eyes – when had he closed them? – and focused on the world around him.

Several gasps came from around him and Midvalley's eyes widened as he saw his friends. He gasped as well, immediately regretting it as he remembered the two gunshot wounds in his abdomen. Legato was there, a million questions flying from his mouth at once, mostly to see if he was okay or not. A hand appeared on his shoulder and Midvalley looked up to meet Wolfwood's eyes. The look on his face held more gratitude than the priest could possibly express with words.

There was a flash of red and Midvalley had just enough time to brace himself before he was swept up in a bone-crushing hug by Vash. "You're alive! You made it! Oh thank you, thank you! I don't know who decided this, but thank you!!"

Midvalley struggled for breath and fought to focus through the pain. "You-you moron. I'm practically dead. Lemme go!" Vash released the musician, immediately all business and began tending his wounds. "Vash?" The man looked up, worried. "She says, she's proud of you."

A small smile graced the gunman's lips. A real smile. "I'll bet she's proud of all of you, too. I am."

***

Well, not exactly what I wanted, but it's as close as I'm going to get. It's done! Don't forget to look for the comedy review tomorrow ^_^ And I do apologize for my shoty work at posting on time. I hope it was worth it. And now for a shameless plug: If you liked this story, you should go read 'Life After Him'. Another angsty fic with a little more angst and a lot more yaoi (since this story had none) But yeah, shameless plug. In any case, tell me what you think about this, and thanks for reading!!  ^_^  ^_^  ^_^  ^_^


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